Full circle or full speed ahead

I walk an Earth Based Path. Believing that animals have souls isn't just an idiosyncrasy, its a firmly established part of my belief system. I believe all life is precious and every life counts. The Earth does not belong to us, rather we belong to the Earth.
So you can see where reading Redemption was like coming home. For most people its also a bit of an 'AH HA' moment to realize that there are sensible solutions that really do work.
Another one of my favourite Nathan Winograd quotes is "Ending the killing of healthy and treatable pets means building, brick-by-brick, the programs, facilities, and community involvement necessary to lower birthrates, increase adoptions and keep animals with their loving, responsible caregivers. But most of all, it means believing in the community and trusting in the power of compassion"
That tripod cuts through the crap:

• lower birthrates to turn off the tap with SNAP, TNR and of course making sure that all rescue and shelter adoptees are spayed or neutered
• Increase adoptions by being more user friendly and getting the word (and the animals ) out there, and of course
• pet retention with a strong safety net of community support programs

One of the other miracles of No Kill is that it engages more support from the animal loving community. When people realize that all the healthy, treatable animals are living to tell the tail, they are much more inclined to volunteer/be a member/donate/etc... The more support the community gives, the better the whole thing works.

The path to No Kill Nova Scotia is still full of pitfalls:

• The Union of NS Municipalities needs to stop wasting its breath working on Breed Specific Legislation and start funding the hardworking little TNR groups that are in essence saving the tax payers money with the work that they do.
• The UNSM also needs to reevaluate the level of funding, training, programs and facilities for its own AC departments.
• A provincially funded SNAP would ensure consistent results throughout the province
• The Department of Education already has a suitable umbrella for funding Humane Education in the public school system, the Learning for Life Program. This should be pursued, not only as a life skill but as a way to save future tax dollars
• Every good step forward that the society is taking now is still tarred with the ugly brush of the Cape Breton SPCA Branch. Until this issue is addressed, it will continue to affect the reputation of all the rest of the society.
• All the rescues and the society will need to be able to set aside their differences and work together. ( My 'favourite' rescue groups are the ones that never 'bad mouth' the others, but they are sadly few and far between )

There are lessons for everyone to learn and unlearn:

• adoption fees by themselves are no guarantee of financial stability - someone can easily ante up while shortchanging something else in their budget. Sometimes those with the deepest pockets are most inclined to pinch pennies with food and vet care. Checking vet references is more of an assurance than a hefty adoption fee. Anytime I have said this before its been treated like heresy, but its just a fact of life. Lower adoption rates cut out the 'competition' - every spayed or neutered animal adopted from rescue is one less pet that will reproduce
• not accepting owner surrenders doesn't mean there will be less irresponsible pet owners, it means there will be more animals put in harms way
• TNR does not endanger wildlife or promote the spread of disease.

Still, I have faith that we will get to No Kill Nova Scotia. The power of so much love for the animals, combined with the awakening consciousness of the animal loving community in this province could move mountains. If only we don't drop the ball and get bogged down in nitpicking. Otherwise, we could wind up turning things around 360 degrees instead of moving ahead.

It’s easy to get good players. Getting them to play together, that’s the hard part. Casey Stengel