Cesar’s State of the Shelter Address

Cesar speaking at the 2010 puppy Mill
Awareness Festival in Los Angeles

This week, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. We felt it was an appropriate time to take stock of what’s going on in our animal shelters around the country and give you a fair and honest picture of what’s working, what’s not, and how you can help. After all, it’s not about asking what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

It has been my mission through the Cesar Millan Foundation to create and deliver community education programs and promote animal welfare by supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of abused and abandoned dogs. Every year approximately 5 to 7 million animals enter our shelters, and 3 to 5 million are euthanized. This means about 60 percent of the dogs in our shelters will be killed. While those numbers vary from state to state, this is the broad scope of the State of our Shelters, which we are sad to report, is mediocre at best.

First, we need to be clear that the data and statistics presented here are a sampling. There is no national organization that exists to monitor or regulate the approximately 5,000 independent animal shelters around the country. The communities themselves are the ones with oversight and the responsibility for keeping track and maintaining the momentum of helping to improve and protect the lives of our animals. Let this be a reminder to you that the terms “humane society” and “SPCA” are not official and many shelters using these names are not part of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) or the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

As a country, more than 60 percent of households own a pet, with 75 million of those pets being dogs. Many of them are gifts from acquaintances and family members, 15 to 20 percent are purchased from breeders, and 10 to 20 percent are adopted from shelters and rescues, and up to 10 percent are purchased from pet stores. Only 10 percent of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered and 75 percent of them are mixed breeds. And the average cost of caring for a dog (including food, basic supplies, medical needs, and training) is between $700-900 annually.

We have an overpopulation crisis. And no matter how well-intentioned or funded our shelters in certain communities may be, the bottom line when it comes to pet overpopulation is this: our shelters are overburdened, they don’t have enough room or resources, and dogs are being euthanized in devastating numbers. More are entering the shelters and never leaving than are going out to live happy, fulfilling lives as beloved canine companions. It is impossible to determine the actual number of strays on our streets and in our communities. A fertile dog on average will produce one litter a year, with 4 to 6 puppies. And a startling fact – the cost of spaying or neutering a dog is less than the cost of raising puppies for a year. So it comes down to simple mathematics really. If our pets are spayed or neutered, they will not produce litters, leaving less chance for such animals to end up homeless, in shelters, or put to sleep. Another thing to keep in mind is that dogs that are microchipped have a better chance of returning to their owners than those who aren’t, at a rate of 15 to 20 percent. And equally critical is shutting down puppy mill operations, encouraging people to adopt and not shop at pet stores.

Let us give you an example of how much this varies community to community. In Denver recently, the owner of a pet store gave up his license to breed dogs, but still owns a kennel in Denver and in Oberlin, Kansas, where 1,200 dogs had to be euthanized in December after the canine distemper virus was found among the dogs in the kennel and in puppies sold to pet shops in Wyoming. Newspaper reports claimed that Colorado's agriculture department said the pet store was in compliance with the state's Pet Animal care Facilities Act.

In Boulder, Colo., however, The ASPCA recently awarded the Humane Society of Boulder Valley their $100K prize as winners of a national contest that was designed to inspire animal shelters across the country to save more lives by adopting as many as possible during the three-month challenge. The HSBV saved a total of 2,640 cats and dogs, representing an increase of 968 over the same period in 2009. According to the ASPCA, “The dedicated staff and volunteers of Boulder Valley seized a commanding early lead, despite a series of setbacks, including wildfires that rocked the region in early September, and sustained their efforts to the very end of the contest.”

Earlier this week, the Associated Press released a story about puppy auctions in the state of Missouri, which to our findings has one of the worst puppy mill situations in the country. The article centers around a dog auction in which about 250 dogs were bought and sold, many of which were bought with the purpose of rebreeding so the buyers could make back their money. At the auction, a dog was sold an average of about every 58 seconds, with the average price of about $155. Missouri has long been known for being very lax on commercial dog breeders, which has caused the number of commercial auctions for dogs to rise from 10 in 1995 to 67 in 2005 and even more today. At a time when we are seeing some euthanasia rates decline around the country, according to the Missouri Animal Control Alliance, the euthanasia rates there are going up. While kill rates are a reflection of the commercial breeding that takes place, there may also be another factor to consider – Breed Specific Legislation. In various cities that have implemented BSL, kill rates go up to deal with the overpopulation of that particular breed.

This leaves us with a responsibility. As a whole, we are a humane country and we love our pets. But we need to look outside our homes and to our communities to help educate and raise awareness about the cruelty taking place. First, we need to spay and neuter our pets, and make low-cost or free spay/neuter services available to all. Second, we need to adopt and rescue, so that we make it impossible for puppy mills to survive and continue to abuse our animals with horrendous living conditions, producing litter after litter. Third, we need to provide the shelters with support – both in funding and manpower. It has been my experience that most of them are well-intentioned and are doing the best they can with a limited amount of resources and an overwhelming burden.

But, we must stay vigilant, determined and committed, not letting the harsh reality hold us back from progress. I know we can do this. We have to work together each and every day to fulfill our collective vision of a life-long, healthy, and harmonious world for dogs and people.

DOG RESCUE

Cesar’s State of the Shelter Address

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