A possible animal shelter solution

By Darryl Cornelius, Las Vegas

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 | 2 a.m.

No Kill Las Vegas and the Animal Foundation need to end their mutual intransigence, find common ground and reach a compromise to do what is in the best interest of the hundreds of homeless animals housed at the Lied Shelter.

Although far from perfect, the Animal Foundation has vastly improved its overall operation of the shelter. It has provided quality training programs for the staff and volunteers. It has run a number of successful promotions that have resulted in hundreds of animals being adopted in a very short period of time. It is slowly but surely reducing the euthanasia rate. All the while, it has been taking the blame for a problem that is not of its making. The truth is that pet overpopulation is a community problem that is almost totally a result of irresponsible owners who neglect to get their pets spayed or neutered.

No Kill Las Vegas claims it has the means to construct a shelter in the valley that could house nearly half of the animals at the Lied location. One possible solution that would be a “win-win” for all concerned would be to transfer those animals scheduled for euthanasia from Lied to No Kill Las Vegas. This would keep the Animal Foundation from having to euthanize so many animals and give No Kill Las Vegas an opportunity to try to give these animals a second chance at life.

With No Kill Las Vegas and the Animal Foundation working together, the Lied shelter could develop a reputation as a progressive shelter that, despite its size, does all it can to both reduce the euthanasia rate and enrich the environment of the animals housed there. Hopefully, some day it will be widely viewed as a positive example to other shelters.