June 11 could be safest day for shelter animals in U.S. history

Via PR Newswire - Animal shelters around the country are joining forces with the California based No Kill Advocacy Center to experience a new way of operating for Just One Day.

On June 11, shelter staff will put down syringes and pick up cameras. Instead of injecting animals with lethal doses of sodium pentobarbital, they will photograph them and post them on the Internet. They will market their animals to the public, they will reach out to rescue groups, they will host adoption events with discounted rates, they will stay open for extended hours, and they will ask their communities to help them empty the shelter the good way.

Instead of going into body bags in freezers, animals will go out the front door in the loving arms of families. At the end of the day, the shelters will be emptier than when the day started. And no one will have had to die in order to make that happen.

Each day in America's animal shelters, about 10,000 healthy or treatable dogs and cats are killed. Historically, these deaths have been blamed on so-called "overpopulation". However, a growing body of research clearly shows that there are plenty of homes wanting new pets to ensure that all savable animals in shelters can get new families.

Policy changes in shelters can and have ended the killing. More than 200 cities, counties and towns have already implemented a set of programs that have permanently ended shelter killing. Just One Day offers other shelters an opportunity to experience the fun, joy and excitement these other shelters experience regularly.

June 11, 2012 was the inauguration of Just One Day. It was an inspiring success with animal welfare advocates all over the nation declaring it the safest day for shelter animals in US history. Nearly 800 organizations participated. Nearly 9,000 lives were saved. In 2013, about 1,200 organizations participated, saving more than 12,000 animals, more than erasing a typical day of killing.

"Some shelters literally ran out of animals," said Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center. "With empty cages all over their shelters, many of them realized they were not going to have to kill any animals on June 12 either. Many decided to continue their events each day for Just One More Day."

In 2014, several large animal control operations have taken the pledge including New York City Animal Care and Control. For more information, visit http://www.justoneday.ws/  or visit the Just One Day Facebook page.