Nebraska

Nebraska Humane Society working to become ‘no kill’ shelter

Published

3 months ago

October 4, 2024

Nebraska Humane Society working to become ‘no kill’ shelter

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.

NEBRASKA HUMANE SOCIETY SAVE RATES

2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
79.6%	79.8%	80.2%	83.6%	85.3%	86.9%	86.4%

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.

The Nebraska Humane Society started daily playgroups for dogs to help socialize them, making them more adoptable.(Erin Sullivan)

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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Nebraska

Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

An SEC defensive back is headed to Lincoln via the transfer portal.

Former Georgia DB Justyn Rhett has committed to Nebraska. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Rhett appeared in four games over two seasons for the powerhouse Bulldogs. He finishes his Georgia career with three tackles.

The 6-1, 200-pound DB got to Athens from the football factory out of Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman. A four-star prospect out of high school, Rhett was selected to play in Under Armour All-America Game and picked Georgia over Alabama, Michigan, Florida State, LSU, Tennessee, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oregon, and more.

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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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Nebraska

900 Square Feet: Recapping Louisville-Pitt, Penn State-Nebraska

Published

13 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

900 Square Feet: Recapping Louisville-Pitt, Penn State-Nebraska

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — One match left: Louisville, which knocked out Pittsburgh, plays Penn State, which ousted Nebraska with a five-set reverse sweep.

ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst Emily Ehman and VolleyballMag editor Lee Feinswog look back on an incredible Thursday night at the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship:

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Nebraska

Dana Holgorsen, John Butler talk bowl prep and being “light on your feet”

Published

21 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Dana Holgorsen, John Butler talk bowl prep and being “light on your feet”

In today’s college football, coaches must have their head on a swivel.

That’s true during the season of course, but it’s now a way of life once the transfer portal opens in December and rosters start moving and shaking. And things get even more wild if you’re at a program that’s playing in a bowl game, or even the College Football Playoff.

It’s a balancing act that all staffs are going through right now. Nebraska’s included.

“You’ve got to be light on your feet, man,” Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler said during a press conference over Zoom on Thursday. “I mean, you’re maybe in the middle of a game-plan meeting and all of a sudden you got to jump out and you’re having a 30-minute meeting with a prospect that’s in on a visit, or you’re jumping on a Zoom doing it. Or you’re watching 15 minutes of tape to make sure that, hey, this guy just jumped in and he wants to visit us. So I think you got to be a fast thinker and mover and a shaker, quite frankly.”

This whole process has taught Butler, who spent the 2024 season as the defensive backs coach under now-departed DC Tony White, that these traits are as important as ever: Being decisive. Being organized. Following a road map to achieve a goal and not deviating from it when there’s chaos all over.

“You’ve got to have a plan and a vision for what you’re looking for, because everything happens so fast,” Butler said. “You have a guy get in and get out, get in and get signed. And at the same time, you also got to keep an eye on your roster constantly, because there’s people reaching out. There’s people reaching out to your players, whether it’s direct or it’s people reaching out through a third party. And it’s unfortunate in this environment.

“People said, ‘Hey, it’s like NFL free agency.’ No, it’s not. NFL free agency is regulated.”

As Husker fans have come to learn, just because a player says he’s going to enter the transfer portal doesn’t mean he actually will. And sometimes when a player actually enters his name in the portal, there’s always a chance they could withdraw their name and return to their program if each side wants.

Nebraska saw that happen with defensive lineman Keona Davis, who briefly entered the portal before withdrawing and staying at NU for 2025. There was also running back Emmett Johnson — he announced he would enter the portal but never made it there.

Holgorsen played a key role in convincing Johnson to stay at Nebraska.

“We had some long talks after the season, and I got to know him better as a person,” Holgorsen said of his relationship with Johnson. “I did that with a bunch of them, but him in particular was probably about the first one that came in and was excited about what we did, but there was some buts. So we had some long talks. I think he’s a great kid and he’s going to be a special player here. Excited to coach him.”

On Holgorsen’s side of the ball, he’ll have to adjust his game plan now that he’ll be without a handful of players he was able to use during the regular season.

Running back Dante Dowdell transferred to Kentucky on Friday. A tight end Holgorsen really liked, Nate Boerkircher, transferred to Texas A&M. Receiver Isaiah Neyor has chosen to opt out of the Pinstripe Bowl to focus on his NFL aspirations. Offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua, who began the year as the starting right guard but finished the season rotating with Gunnar Gottula at left tackle, won’t play in the bowl because he’s getting surgery to fix a torn labrum he played through during the season.

There will be holes to fill on Holgorsen’s offense in the bowl game and beyond in 2025. But Holgorsen brushes all of this chaos off. He’s a go-with-the-flow guy. He doesn’t pretend to have answers to fix college football. What he does have, though, is a plan.

“There’s been a lot of talk out there about something needs to happen. That’s above my pay grade,” Holgorsen said. “So, the few kids who decided to do that (leave), we wish them well, and you just go replace them. It’s as simple as that.”

Part of that replacement process needs to happen for the bowl game with current members of the roster. Behind Emmett Johnson, expect Rahmir Johnson — he’s native of the Bronx and will have several family members and friends at Yankee Stadium — to play often as it’ll be his final game in a Husker uniform.

But with Dowdell and Gabe Ervin Jr. gone from the team, perhaps this Pinstripe Bowl will feature another big back on Nebraska’s roster who’s seldom been used: redshirt freshman Kwinten Ives, a 6-3, 210-pounder.

“You know, 23 (Dowdell) isn’t playing in the bowl game but 28 (Ives) is gonna go in there and he’s gonna play his tail off because he’s had nine spectacular practices,” Holgorsen said. “I think that’s how you got to look at it. You don’t worry about the ones that aren’t playing. You worry about the ones that are playing, and you coach them and you try to develop them, put them in position to hopefully be successful.”