Escondido Humane Society: Asilomar FAQ

In August 2004, a group of animal welfare industry leaders from across the nation convened at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California, for the purpose of building bridges across varying philosophies, developing relationships and creating goals focused on significantly reducing the euthanasia of healthy and treatable companion animals in the United States.

See below excerpts from �A Guide to Asilomar Definitions,� at http://www.asilomaraccords.org/definitions_maddies_fund.pdf

The term �healthy� means and includes all dogs and cats eight weeks of age or older that, at or subsequent to the time the animal is taken into possession, have manifested no sign of a behavioral or temperamental characteristic that could pose a health or safety risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet, and have manifested no sign of disease, injury, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the animal or that is likely to adversely affect the animal�s health in the future.

Explanation: Dogs and cats who meet the definition of �healthy� are reasonably healthy, reasonably well-adjusted pets over the age of eight weeks. These animals do not need medical, behavioral or foster care and are ready to be made available to the public for adoption. A dog or cat does not have to be cute and cuddly or easy to place to meet this definition: �healthy� is not the same as �easy to adopt.� The animal may be blind, deaf, old, or missing a limb, or she may be a pit bull that local laws or policies say can�t be adopted out, but as long as the animal is reasonably healthy and reasonably well-adjusted, she meets the definition.

The term �treatable� means and includes all dogs and cats who are �rehabilitatable� and all dogs and cats who are �manageable.� The term �rehabilitatable� means and includes all dogs and cats who are not �healthy,� but who are likely to become �healthy,� if given medical, foster, behavioral, or other care equivalent to the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community. The term �manageable� means and includes all dogs and cats who are not �healthy� and who are not likely to become �healthy,� regardless of the care provided; but who would likely maintain a satisfactory quality of life, if given medical, foster, behavioral, or other care, including long-term care, equivalent to the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community; provided, however, that the term�manageable� does not include any dog or cat who is determined to pose a significant risk to human health or safety or to the health or safety of other animals.

Explanation: The definition of �treatable� is divided into two parts: �rehabilitatable� and �manageable.� �Treatable-Rehabilitatable� includes sick, injured, and underage dogs and cats, as well as dogs and cats with behavior problems. �Rehabilitatable� animals are animals that could become reasonably healthy, well-adjusted pets, if given �the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community.� Because this is a community-based standard, some animals who meet the definition of �treatable/rehabilitatable� in one community might not meet the definition in another. For instance, shelters in communities where pet guardians typically provide pets with very high levels of care would categorize more animals as �treatable-rehabilitatable� than would shelters in communities with lower levels of care. The community-based definition helps to ensure, however, that shelters do not fall below standards in their community for determining which animals are treatable. �Treatable-Manageable� differs from �rehabilitatable� in that �manageable� animals arenot expected to become reasonably healthy, well-adjusted pets, even if they are given carethat meets the standard in their community. These animals are, however, expected to have a satisfactory quality of life if given such care. For instance, a diabetic cat may never be cured, but she is likely to have a satisfactory quality of life if given insulin shots. She cannot be categorized as �treatable-rehabilitatable� because she will always be diabetic. However, assuming insulin shots are typically provided to diabetic cats by caring pet guardians in her community, the cat would be classified as �treatable-manageable.�

The term �Unhealthy & Untreatable� means and includes dogs and cats who, at or subsequent to the time they are taken into possession,

(1) have a behavioral or temperamental characteristic that poses a health or safety risk or otherwise makes the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet, and are not likely to become �healthy� or �treatable� even if provided the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community; or

(2) are suffering from a disease, injury, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the animal�s health or is likely to adversely affect the animal�s health in the future, and are not likely to become �healthy� or �treatable� even if provided the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community; or

(3) are under the age of 8 weeks and are not likely to become �healthy� or �treatable,� even if provided the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community.
Explanation: The definition of �unhealthy & untreatable� covers dogs and cats who do not fall into either of the categories �healthy� or �treatable.� �Unhealthy & Untreatable� includes animals who are not likely to become healthy, well-adjusted companion animals, or animals who are not likely to have a satisfactory quality of life, even if they are given care typical of that provided by reasonable and caring pet guardians in the community.

The San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition (SDAWC) is a group of San Diego County nonprofit animal service professionals and governmental agencies working together to end euthanasia of healthy dogs and cats as well as those with treatable physical and/or behavioral conditions. SDAWC consists of the following agencies: Chula Vista Animal Care Facility, County of San Diego Animal Services, El Cajon Animal Shelter, Escondido Humane Society, North County Humane Society, Rancho Coastal Humane Society, and the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA.

We are a completely independent nonprofit organization. We are not governed by a national organization, nor are we related to local shelters. We do not receive funding from other humane societies � we receive it from our donors. We do not share donations, donor information, volunteers, or animals with any other shelter. With that said, we are very proud to be part of a team of shelters uniting for the common good of animals. Together, the coalition is committed to maintaining a �no-kill network� and sharing ideas among ourselves to improve the health and well-being of animals across San Diego County. Though we remain a unique and independent organization, we�re proud to be working with a network of shelters to share ideas, techniques, and statistics in an effort to improve the care, well-being, and re-homing of companion animals in need across San Diego County and beyond.

The root of this question is often �how many animals do you euthanize because you do not have space for them.� For us, the answer is none. What�s tough about �euthanasia rate� questions is that the answer, in numbers, doesn�t explain the reasons why animals are euthanized. Though we are opposed to the euthanasia of an animal who is healthy or can become healthy, we do humanely euthanize animals who are terminally ill and suffering or are unsafe to the public and will likely not become safe. We are very proud of our �Annual Live Release Rate.� This is the percentage of animals who come in the door and are re-homed. Keep in mind that we take in any stray animal that comes to our door from our area. Yes, this includes all stray animals, regardless of breed, age, or socialization. In the course of the year, over 85% of our animals arrive stray, straight from the streets, many of which have a host of problems inherent to that life - both medical and behavioral. Instead of turning them away, we have a talented and dedicated veterinary and behavioral team working to make them healthy and ready for new homes. Our rehabilitation programs, like canine massage and aromatherapy, are at the forefront of animal care.

Every shelter is different. Our communities are unique � and so are the animals that we shelter. Some animal acceptance policies are different as well. The Escondido Humane Society does not turn away homeless animals from our jurisdiction for any reason. When we accept owner surrendered animals (due to our limited space, we currently have a waiting list), we are a first-come, first-served, completely open-door shelter and do not choose to accept animals based on age, breed, or health. This means that we take on challenging cases every day. Yes, we will accept that stray dog hit by a car on Grand Avenue. We will accept the feral cat trapped in your backyard on San Marcos Blvd. We will care for the lost and frightened pit bull with bite marks on its leg (by the way, we�ve had about as many Labradors waiting for adoption this year as pit bulls � we have a great variety of animals awaiting homes, from the big ones to the Pomeranians). We seek increased donations to our center so we can further improve the level of care to all animals in our shelter and, together with other shelters in San Diego and beyond, seek better methods for caring for and re-homing animals.

While we are not designated as a no-kill shelter, it is important to understand the definition of the term: we do not euthanize healthy animals � and we never euthanize for length of stay, lack of space, breed, age, or attractiveness to potential adopters. However, we do humanely euthanize animals who are terminally ill and suffering or are unsafe to the public and will likely not become safe.