Three to four million animals are killed every year due to the lack of space in shelters and low adoption rates. Throughout the mid-Peninsula, different foundations have various ways of handling the overwhelming population of pets available for adoption.

“I think animal care is a larger issue than people think,” said Leonor Delgado, education manager at Palo Alto Humane Society. “Animals are impacted by many of the same things that also impact people.”

Resulting from the growth in Silicon Valley, rising rent costs have displaced many people to smaller quarters. Landlords, property managers, and owners who do not allow people to take their animals with them force renters to surrender their pets to overcrowded shelters.

“Most shelters are not no-kill shelters,” Delgado said. “So an animal who has been in a home for many years suddenly finds himself in a shelter situation with other barking dogs, meowing cats, and becomes so stressed that he is rendered unadoptable and the decision is made to euthanize him.”

This situation stems from a trickle-down effect. Property managers who do not view animals as part of the family do not allow pets in housing, which leads to overcrowding in shelters and euthanasia.

Rather than face the very real threat of their pets being euthanized at a shelter, some people leave their animals on the streets instead of in shelters. The hope is that either the animal can fend for itself—which is highly unlikely for domestic animals—or they will be picked up by someone else and given a nice home.   

“Most of the time, though, people don’t intervene to help abandoned animals,” Delgado said. “Cat people like me who work with community cats and care for colonies find pet cats abandoned near our colonies all the time and then we have the obligation to try to find a solution for these animals without homes.”  

Although abandonment followed by euthanasia at a shelter does happen sometimes in Palo Alto, it happens much more frequently in East Palo Alto and areas of Redwood City, when people are evicted and rents subsequently skyrocket. Humane societies and rescue groups then find animals abandoned in the street.

“I think students need to be aware of this situation and need to try, along with us, to find solutions to these problems,” Delgado said. “One of our ideas in the past was to ask people to open their homes to one more pet, or to work with local city councils to try to allow more pets in a household. Students can also try to convince property owners that a well-trained cat or dog will not damage anything.”

There are larger issues involved, such as better shelter practices and better housing for animals in shelters, that students should be aware of. There are bigger issues such as endangered species and worldwide issues that we try to alert people to through our advocacy programs.  It would be wonderful if we could find high school students who would want to work with us to develop curriculum that we can implement in high schools.”

Many local organizations work to improve animal welfare and spread community awareness. There are a number of them that are strictly against euthanization, also known as “no-kill shelters.” C Magazine visited a few to find out more about the no-kill movement and how everyone can help save homeless animals.

Palo Alto Humane Society

A key advocate for animal welfare, Palo Alto Humane Society (PAHS) saves animals through intervention and education rather than adoption in a shelter environment. PAHS is looking for student volunteers to help educate children at local schools about animal rights and finding solutions to reduce animal abandonment.

Pets In Need

Pets In Need rescues cats and dogs at risk of being euthanized at public shelters. The organization aims to promote the no-kill movement by finding animals loving homes. Students can participate in the “shadow program,” an opportunity to spend one day with a volunteer and the adoption manager to learn about the foundation and interact with animals.

Nine Lives

Founded by Dr. Monica Rudiger in 2004, Nine Lives is a  cat shelter in Redwood City.  Strongly against the idea of euthanizing animals, Kathy Elkins from Nine Lives takes great pride in being a part of a “true ‘no-kill’ shelter where cats are cared for as long as necessary.” Since the shelter is solely dependent on private donations, it faced difficulties paying the yearly sum to rent its vast warehouse. Nine Lives has since moved to a new location on Jefferson Avenue and has little available space for adoptable cats.

Palo Alto Animal Services

Palo Alto Animal Services (PAAS) is the municipal shelter for the City of Palo Alto. The shelter was founded in 1894 in response to the large number of stray dogs wandering around the city. Palo Alto Humane Society ran the animal shelter until the City of Palo Alto took over shelter operations under the management of the Palo Alto Police Department in 1972. PAAS provides services such as dog licensing, vaccinations and adoptions. It also operates a low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic. According to Sachi Hwangbo, volunteer coordinator at PAAS, there are currently only a few empty volunteering slots available. Hwangbo said, “In the meantime, I encourage teens to looks for volunteer opportunities at the larger animal shelters.”