TRANSCRIPT:
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Luis Hernandez: 2023 was a landmark year for animal welfare in Rhode Island. Of the more than 7,000 dogs and cats that entered state shelters in 2023, all savable pets were left alive. It’s a first for the state, which is now the fourth in the country to achieve what’s called no-kill status. The Best Friends Animal Society is a national animal rights group that wants to get the whole country to no-kill status in 2025. Joining me now is the group’s regional director, Audrey Lodato. Audrey, it’s such a pleasure. Thanks so much.
Audrey Lodato: Thanks for having me.
Hernandez: So what does it mean for a state to achieve the no-kill status of shelter animals exactly?
Lodato: It’s such a big accomplishment. It means that every single shelter in the state achieved a save rate of 90% or better. Save rate is the percentage of animals that leave alive. And no-kill is defined by a 90% save rate because we understand that even, you know, with our best efforts in doing everything we can, there’s still a small percentage of animals that might not be able to be rehomed due to behavior or medical concerns.
Hernandez: I’m wondering about the factors at play that lead to saving so many animals.
Lodato: Yeah, Rhode Island is a really progressive state for animal welfare. I was born in Rhode Island, so I’m very proud, you know, that Rhode Island has achieved no-kill. Some of the things that have contributed to this are a very strong focus on pet retention for the community members. So things like ensuring that there is accessible vet care, access to food pantries, access to spay and neuter, access to vaccine clinics and microchip clinics. All of these things really assist people with retaining their pets and keeping them out of shelters.
Hernandez: Audrey, why are you so passionate about this?
Lodato: When I was a little girl, I actually got my first dog from the animal shelter, and I remember getting my dog. Actually, this is an animal shelter that’s in Woonsocket, because I’m from Rhode Island. I took my dog home, and I remember saying to my uncle, look, you know, here’s this dog, and we were all looking at my dog; her name was Mitz. And my uncle just straight up told me what happened to other dogs in the shelter who didn’t get adopted. He said, ‘Oh, that one’s lucky. You know, the other ones don’t make it out.’ And in that moment, I decided I wanted to work in shelters and I wanted that never to be what happened to any dog or cat that was in any shelter. I’ve never really wavered from that.
Hernandez: You have this very ambitious goal. The entire country, no-kill status by 2025?
Lodato: No-kill is an eventuality, right? Because it’s what the community wants and it’s what people who live here want. People value pets as family members. Pets are very important to people and people want accountability for their shelters. They want their shelters to have programs in place that save every animal that’s saveable that comes in. One of the things that’s not immediately visible is the percentage of shelters that is no-kill is climbing, right? So we say a state’s no-kill when every shelter in the state is hitting that 90% save rate. But across the country, almost 70% of shelters are no-kill and that percentage climbs every year. So the amount of shelters that don’t have life saving programs in place is becoming smaller and smaller and smaller.
Hernandez: I wanted to come back to shelters as well and I just wanted to get a sense of shelters, in general, right now. Do they have the support necessary?
Lodato: Any shelter can become no-kill. It really is just a conscious choice for the shelter’s leadership to put the programs in place that are known best practices to increase life saving. And of course, you know, there are issues like access to care in some places or, you know, financial issues, but those issues are maybe less than you think. And it really is more about the way that you choose to run your animal shelter and the philosophies that you have. I think community members really need to speak out and let their officials in their communities know that this is what they want. That will help animal shelters across the country get the resources that they need to achieve these goals.
Hernandez: Well, Audrey, you’re speaking to the community. What else would you like to add?
Lodato: One interesting thing across the country is that if 6% more folks just chose adoption over acquiring their pet from another way, we could actually end the pet homelessness problem tomorrow. So if you’re considering getting a pet, really think about adopting your next pet.
Hernandez: Audrey Lodato is the regional director of the Best Friends Animal Society. Audrey, thanks so much. I appreciate the time.
Lodato: Thanks for having me.
