Yes, Forget Me Not Animal Shelter is a no-kill shelter. After 10 years of operating “as if” we were no-kill, the Board of Directors voted this year to officially become part of the No-Kill Nation movement.
What that means is, no healthy, adoptable pet will ever be euthanized for lack of space or length of time at the shelter.
Pets with treatable medical conditions will receive appropriate treatment and be placed up for adoption, as long as they have a reasonable likelihood of good quality of life post-treatment. Recent examples of these pets would be Sammi (fka Cuckoo) and Dunlin, senior cats that received radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism, and Freckles, a dog who is in the process of receiving appropriate surgeries and physical therapy to heal from injuries received in his prior home.
Being a no-kill shelter does not mean we will leave a pet suffering. Recently, Vader, one of the senior shelter kitties, was found to have an enormous, inoperable tumor in his abdomen. We knew he was suffering, because he would growl every time we picked him up. Part of our responsibility to the shelter pets is providing them the loving care they need, even when that means relieving their suffering with humane euthanasia. When that is the best option for a pet, one of the volunteers is there with them so they have comfort and love during their last moments.
The other exception for no-kill shelters is for animals that are too dangerous or aggressive to safely house and rehome. In addition to our responsibilities toward the pets in our care, we have a responsibility toward the community, and toward our volunteers and staff. Forget Me Not generally will not accept any aggressive pets into the Happy Homes adoption program.
There are two things that will enable Forget Me Not to thrive as a no-kill shelter:
1. Partnerships with other shelters and rescues. We have already reached out to several shelters and rescues around the state, to have a safety-net in place in case of overcrowding or long-time pets that need some new exposure to find their forever homes.
2. Foster homes, local and across the state, that can help us in times of crisis, or with pets that need some special TLC. This is where YOU can come in! We would like to create a “go-to” list of available foster homes, and can tailor your foster pets according to your preferences, and place a pet with you only as often as you prefer.
Want to sign up to be a life-saving foster home? Give us a call at 509-775-2308 (leave a message, we’ll call you back); message us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ForgetMeNotAnimalShelter ; or send us an email: info “at” forgetmenotshelter “dot” org.