OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The Nebraska Humane Society is closer than ever to becoming a “no kill” animal shelter after implementing changes over the past year.

Data from the national animal welfare organization, Best Friends Animal Society, showed nearly 1,700 cats and dogs were euthanized in Nebraska shelters last year, with more than 1,100 of those at Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha.

“It really is a tough topic to talk about, but they are decisions that have to be made occasionally,” said Steven Elonich, the Nebraska Humane Society’s VP of PR, Marketing and Internal Communication.

Unlike some shelters, Elonich said NHS does not euthanize for space nor based on time but will for other circumstances.

“If you have a cat who’s 17 years old that comes in with cancer, is it better to give them relief or is it better to let them spend their time suffering? If you have a dog who comes in with multiple bites, is it better for the community if we put them back out there again?” explained Elonich.

In the last seven years, NHS has increased the number of animals saved from euthanasia, from 79.6 percent in 2017 to 86.4 percent in 2023, according to Best Friends Animal Society.

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Now NHS is working to become “no kill,” which is defined as saving 90 percent of animals a year.

To help them get there, Best Friends Animal Society embedded an employee at NHS for a year.

“Best friends did an embed with us beginning in July of 2023, just ended in June of 2024. They started a number of programs and helped us with a number of programs we already have in existence to try to help us get closer to that number,” told Elonich.

New programs include Barks and Rec, which Elonich explained, “is kind of like renting a dog for a day. It gets them out of the shelter, it relieves stress, it gets them in front of more people that may otherwise not see them.”

They also started daily playgroups for dogs to help socialize them, making them more adoptable.

To prevent an overflow of cats they started a Community Cat Project.

“Kitties that are clearly not comfortable being inside cats, we’re able to trap, neuter, release, do vaccinations and get them back out there where they’re happiest and not have to look at euthanasia and those types of options for those cats,” said Pam Wiese, the Nebraska Humane Society’s CEO.

NHS is also trying to increase adoptions and reduce surrenders by offering resources, such as financial support or training.

“It’s about teaching people to be better pet owners, it’s about offering resources to help them keep their pets when times are hard, and it’s about us having best practices internally to make sure pets have the best outcome when they get out of here,” explained Elonich.

After a year of implementing these changes, the results are in. “It’s been really successful,” said Elonich.

“It (NHS) had been no-kill every month this year except for one, where they had a little bit of a dip, but they’re doing tremendously,” said Stacy Rogers, Best Friends Animal Society’s Regional Director for Great Plains and Midwest.

Elonich feels confident NHS will maintain the 90 percent no-kill benchmark for the remainder of 2024.

Rogers added, having the public support these efforts will be key to continued success.

“Getting your community to come in and foster pets when you’re full and adopt animals. Even if they’re not in the position to adopt or foster right now, support the shelter through sharing the message or making donations,” told Rogers.

Wiese said, unlike a decade ago, NHS now operates around 80 percent capacity, which is around 550 animals a day. This ensures they have room for emergency intakes and avoid getting overwhelmed with animals.

Rogers also reminds people who are looking for a specific breed to always check shelters first. “I was just at a shelter this week that had poodle mixes and beagles and a pug mix, and everything that people think they’re not going to find in a shelter are there.”

Best Friends is helping other shelters across the nation to become no-kill. Sometimes those efforts include helping change city ordinances to allow stray cats to live outside and implement community cat programs, like the one in Omaha.

States that are no kill include Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware. Rogers said heavy spay/neuter initiatives were implemented on the east coast much sooner than the rest of the country, helping those states achieve that status.

The two states with the highest rates of euthanasia in the U.S. are Texas and California, according to Best Friends.

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