Interview with Saving Shelter Pets
With: Jane Winebrenner, Communications Director
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Lisa Selvaggio: First, thanks for doing this interview with us and for doing all the work you do to help homeless pets. Your organization is a non-profit consisting of a volunteer staff, and I really admire that so many people are involved and willing to lend a helping hand. Are there any members that are paid, such as the executives of the company who make major decisions and essentially run the show, or are they doing this for no pay as well?
Jane Winebrenner: Thank you Lisa. I'm happy for the opportunity to speak with you about Saving Shelter Pets. To answer your question, we have no paid staff, it's 100% volunteer. And to be honest - we're not that big. There are only about a dozen of us, most with other full-time employment, working tirelessly to make the SSP operation go every day.
LS: SSP pretty much rescues as many animals as possible from kill shelters in the southeastern U.S. and transports them to no-kill shelters in the northeast, after they've been evaluated for health, correct? I'm wondering why they need to be shipped to the northeast. What's the situation like in the southeast for domesticated animals looking for homes?
JW: Yes, that's what our Rescue Program does, and it's a matter of supply and demand. There is an overabundance of domestic animals in the South. Healthy, adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized every day in shelters in Georgia and other southern states, simply because there aren't enough homes for them and only so much space in the county shelters. By contrast, many shelters and rescues in the northeast typically have only a limited assortment of healthy, adoptable dogs to choose from. In fact, the animal rescues that we work with in the northeast sometimes have waiting lists of people who want a dog of a certain size or type, but don't want to go to a breeder or support a pet store.
And, for the record - the fundamental reason for the animal population difference between the two regions of the country is that pet owners in the northeast are much more likely to have their companion animals spayed or neutered, to prevent unwanted puppies and kittens from being born.
LS: What are some of the things you do to raise much-needed funds for all of your programs?
JW: Fundraising for SSP is very different than for a community-based organization. Our staff is spread out across the country, so your typical hoagie sales and car washes do not work well for us. However, we have built up a nationwide network of supporters, using our own online discussion forum and social networking forums such as MySpace. We typically do fundraising as needed, for a particular rescue operation or other event. We send the details out to our supporters, and they step up to help us. We find that if a large number of individuals give just a little, we can raise a lot of money that way and allow a lot of people to be engaged in a meaningful effort. In addition, we have a number of authors, businesses, artists, and artisans that generously donate a portion of proceeds from their work to SSP. We are very humbled that these hard-working folks lend their talents and abilities to support us. And, finally, we participate in a number of Internet-based fundraising programs for non-profits, such as iGive, GoodSearch, and MissionFish (part of eBay).
LS: If someone wants to get involved, does it matter where they're located? What can they do to become a part of your team?
JW: SSP volunteers can be anywhere in the country, or anywhere in the world, really. Much of our work is done online (e-mails and discussion forums) or by cell phone. We post our volunteer opportunities on VolunteerMatch - HYPERLINK "http://www.volunteermatch.org" www.volunteermatch.org. If someone is possibly interested but wants to learn more, they should visit our website, and join our discussion forum - HYPERLINK "http://www.savingshelterpets.com" www.savingshelterpets.com. And, if you live in the greater Atlanta metro area, we can always use "on the ground" volunteers there - to foster and transport animals, visit the shelters, etc.
LS: Tell us about the history of SSP. How did it start and how were you able to make it grow to what it is today?
JW: SSP traces its origins to the online discussion forums in the days following Hurricane Katrina. Animal lovers all over the world watched the news on TV and on the Internet, and were horrified at the toll that the storm had taken on both humans and animals in the Gulf Region. The large number of helpless pets that were abandoned or trapped in evacuated houses was particularly disturbing. Many of these animal-loving individuals used the discussion forums on the Internet to exchange information about rescue operations that were helping the animals. Some, like me, traveled to the Gulf Coast personally to assist with the rescue operations. In doing so, animal lovers everywhere became acutely aware of the severe pet overpopulation problem in the Southern region of the country. As the rescue operations wound down, several members of one discussion forum decided that they wanted to help animals in this area, using an online format for their work. From that group came the organization that is SSP today.
The early days were spent trying to figure out what to do and how to do it best. A new website and discussion forum for Saving Shelter Pets was created. Atlanta was targeted because of its severe overpopulation problem. No-kill rescues from all over the country had stepped up to take in Katrina pets, and it seemed natural to ask them if they would continue to take in homeless pets from the Atlanta area. Individual financial supporters were not difficult to find, in the wake of the recent tragedy with Katrina. The Internet was used to do national outreach for communication of our early work, and solicitation of the funds to support it. We have grown in large part thanks to our outreach work on the Internet, and we continue to rely heavily upon it for our operations today.
LS: What are SSP's long-term goals? Any specific plans in mind for the future?
JW: While we continue our success with rescue of homeless pets in the greater Atlanta area, we would like to increase our emphasis on the pro-active aspect of fighting pet overpopulation - by promoting more spay & neuter programs and educating the general public about the importance of spay/neuter.
Our signature program, Puppy Promises, is a great step in that direction. It keeps unwanted litters of puppies out of the shelter and gets them to rescue instead, and it spays the mother dog and all other animals in the dog owners' household. We are especially proud of this program because it addresses both ends of the overpopulation problem - the reactive (by finding rescue for unwanted puppies) and the pro-active (by providing spay/neuter for all animals in the dog owners' household). In addition, it serves as education by example about responsible pet ownership for the dog owners who enroll in the program.
Our Spay & Neuter program is critical to our future also. This program provides financial assistance to low-income households for spay/neuter surgeries. At this time we are collaborating with shelters and rescues in GA and OH to help with spay and neuter events and projects, and we will continue to grow this part of our organization going forward. SSP believes strongly that advocating and enabling Spay & Neuter is the most important aspect of the work we do.
LS: The mailing address on your site is for a place in Michigan. Is your organization based there? If so, how do you manage to perform the work necessary in the southeast from so far away?
JW: We are a "virtual" organization. We don't really have a physical base. Jamie Vijay, the President of SSP, works in Three Oaks, Michigan, and so SSP maintains a Post Office box there. All management of SSP's activities are done online or over the telephone. We rely extensively on local volunteers in the Atlanta area to pull our animals from the shelter and transport them to vetting and boarding facilities.
LS: When going into the kill shelters to rescue the animals, do you have certain criteria you look for in an animal? What helps you make the decision to save some but not others?
JW: These decisions are extemely difficult indeed. Our philosophy with the Rescue program is to use our resources in a wise and responsible manner, in order to save as many animals as possible. We always consider an animal's temperament, and look for candidates that we know our rescues can adopt out quickly. And we work very hard to rescue the "less adoptable" animals whenever possible - larger breeds, seniors, the ill and the injured, etc.
LS: What advice can you offer to other non-profits to help themselves promote their cause? What are some of the ways that you've found to be most successful in reaching the most people to get this project off the ground and going strong?
JW: As I said before, we have used the Internet extensively to grow our supporter base. Sites on social networking forums such as MySpace require an investment of time to develop and maintain, but they are also great communication tools to reach a widespread audience.
LS: Are there any other organizations, big or small, you work with directly? If so, who, and how do you collaborate?
JW: Gosh, we collaborate with so many it's hard to single them out. First, of course, is our assemblage of wonderful receiving rescues in the northeastern part of the country. Most are located in NJ, NY, CT, VT, and NH. We also have a large network of shelters in the greater Atlanta area. We communicate with these groups closely through e-mail, fax, and/or telephone as we execute our rescue operations. In addition, we have collaborated with other rescue groups in Georgia and Ohio to provide financial assistance for spay & neuter events and projects in their local areas.
LS: Are there any particular success stories that really stand out that you'd like to share?
JW: My favorite SSP triumph-over-tragedy story is Barney, a cute little shepherd mix who came to us in the Summer of 2006. It seems that his owner decided they didn't want him any more, so they hit him over the head with a blunt object, crushed his skull, and left him in the woods to die. Somehow he survived that ordeal, and some construction guys working nearby found him and were feeding him scraps from their lunches to keep him from starving. A neighbor, however, was threatening to shoot him. The poor dog was fearful and skittish (understandably so), but a kind person lured him in with food and got him out of the woods. SSP took him into our Rescue Program and readied him to travel to a rescue in Montana. There, a lovely woman who heard his sad story was pre-screened for his adoption, and ready to take him as soon as he got to the rescue. Now he's living the good life, where he'll never again have to worry about starving or being abandoned. He goes to work with his new owner every morning, and he even gets to take his own lunch bag of doggie treats!
LS: What are the conditions of most of the animals saved from kill shelters? Do you find that a lot are in really bad shape, not taken care of properly, or are they healthy for the most part?
JW: Actually, it varies a great deal. We have seen injured, abused, and emaciated animals; and we have seen animals that are perfectly healthy and look as if they just came from a grooming appointment. We do find that many have minor, treatable ailments such as mange or ear infections. Also, heartworm in dogs is fairly prevalent in the Atlanta area. And very few animals are spayed or neutered upon arrival at the shelter.
LS: I've read that some no-kill shelters will give animals away to people without performing the proper background checks, thereby inadvertently, and in some states, purposely, giving or selling these animals to individuals who will then sell them to vivisection labs. Do you take these factors into consideration when choosing what shelters to work with? What are the criteria you look for in a shelter before transporting animals to it?
JW: Yes, very definitely! There are some "bad rescues" out there, and SSP performs the due diligence to ensure that we never work with one of those. We carefully screen all of our rescues before we send them any animals. Our minimum requirement is a sensible no-kill policy, a spay/neuter requirement for adoption, an all-inclusive return policy, and at least one positive reference for the rescue from a licensed veterinarian. Obviously, we would never consider sending animals to any so-called "rescue" which is providing them to labs for vivisection. In addition, we try to have one of our volunteers visit the facility in person to verify it is clean and well-run, and we have a policy to re-screen the rescues periodically, to be sure nothing has changed since our initial review.
LS: With the countless number of animals euthanized every day, how do you keep going when you know that no matter how many you save, more are being killed? What's some advice you can give to other caring people who want to make a difference but find it hard to keep their heads high?
JW: This is a tough question. It is disheartening to see animals die when you're working so hard to save them. Just as disheartening are the stories we hear of people who mistreat animals, don't spay & neuter, etc., that - through ignorance and irresponsibility - undermine all of what we are trying to do. However, the thing we always tell each other is to focus on the successes, not the failures. The failures are going to occur whether SSP exists or not, but the successes are uniquely ours to celebrate and feel good about.
LS: Finally, is there anything that you'd like to mention that wasn't already discussed in this interview?
JW: I'd like to emphasize that the Saving Shelter Pets organization focuses on both ends of the pet overpopulation problem - the reactive as well as the proactive. Our rescue work pulling the animals from death row and saving their lives is a reaction to the overpopulation problem that already exists. And our spay/neuter programs are the proactive piece of our work. Spay/neuter programs prevent overpopulation before it happens, and SSP believes they are an integral piece of a responsible pet welfare organization.
Also, I'd like to thank the folks at Paragon Magazine for promoting Saving Shelter Pets, and for helping to increase public awareness for animal welfare issues. Education and awareness are critical to the fight against pet overpopulation. We appreciate Paragon's support of our cause.