Susan Houser
New Book on Animal Shelter History
Prodigal Pets: A History of Animal Sheltering in America and the Origin of the No Kill Movement by Susan K. Houser. An in-depth look at...
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Susan Houser
Dec 5, 20189 min read
Doobert: A Versatile Way to Save Lives
I recently interviewed Chris Roy, the creator of Doobert.com, about how Doobert can be used to help shelter workers and rescuers do their...
Susan Houser
Oct 11, 20188 min read
Virginia’s No Kill Effort: Innovation and Inspiration
Introduction Last year I wrote about a new statewide No Kill campaign in Virginia. The campaign was developed by Makena Yarbrough,...
Susan Houser
Aug 5, 20188 min read
Are Cats an Invasive Species as Defined by the U.S. Government?
When cat advocates try to establish programs to help and manage outdoor cats, they frequently meet resistance from wildlife...
Susan Houser
Jul 25, 20182 min read
What’s New at OTFD
A lot has been happening at Out the Front Door (OTFD) lately. Today I want to introduce a new website for OTFD, a new book to be...
Susan Houser
Jul 5, 201816 min read
The Future of Sheltering
What will animal shelters look like in the years ahead – in 2030, 2040, 2050? What functions will they serve in their communities? These...
Susan Houser
Jun 25, 20184 min read
Maddie’s Pet Forum: A New Way to Communicate
Did you ever wish there was a place online where you could go with questions about shelter lifesaving and quickly get answers from...
Susan Houser
May 9, 20189 min read
Fostering: A Keystone Program — Interview with Kristen Auerbach
I recently had the opportunity to interview Kristen Auerbach, head of the Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) in Tucson, Arizona. Before...
Susan Houser
Apr 24, 20187 min read
The Culture of Adoption
Many communities in the United States have a high intake of animals at the local shelter. The consulting service Humane Network recently...
Susan Houser
Apr 16, 20187 min read
Nevada’s New Statewide Pet Lifesaving Campaign
This month, Maddie’s Fund is commencing a three-year effort to make Nevada a state where all healthy and treatable animals are saved. The...
Susan Houser
Apr 10, 201811 min read
“How Can I Reform the Shelter in My City?”
I get this question frequently on social media, and there is no short answer, so I decided to write a blog on the topic. As a preliminary...
Susan Houser
Mar 26, 20185 min read
Rescue Buying of Puppy Mill Breeding Stock – Good or Bad?
There’s considerable controversy over whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing for rescues to buy puppy mill breeding stock at auctions....
Susan Houser
Mar 11, 20186 min read
The Game Changer: How San Antonio Pets Alive! Turned the Tide in San Antonio’s Goal to Save Lives
With the terrific progress of No Kill in San Antonio, I thought my readers might be interested in a report from San Antonio Pets Alive...
Susan Houser
Feb 18, 20186 min read
The Perspective of the Rescuer
In many communities rescuers are the backbone of the No Kill effort. They pull animals from the shelter, including the ones most in need...
Susan Houser
Jan 1, 20186 min read
January 1, 2018
This blog takes a look at the big trends in No Kill in 2017, but first I want to say a word about sheltering in 2018. We’ve made...
Susan Houser
Dec 18, 20176 min read
The Future of Sheltering
This is the fifth and final blog in my series on the professionalization of the animal shelter, and it covers an important part of...
Susan Houser
Nov 29, 20179 min read
On the Same Page
In the last few years, the idea that traditional shelters are fundamentally at odds with No Kill shelters has been evaporating....
Susan Houser
Oct 23, 20179 min read
Three Waves of No Kill
This is a very exciting time for No Kill advocates because we are entering on a third, and final, stage of No Kill progress.* In just a...
Susan Houser
Oct 11, 20179 min read
Creating A Safety Net for Pets
An animal shelter is more than just the sum of its internal programs. It’s also a public institution that has an interlocking...
Susan Houser
Oct 1, 201710 min read
The Professionalization of Animal Sheltering, Part 1: Inventory Management
In the last few years several new programs have become central to the professionalization of animal sheltering. One theme common to those...
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