San Francisco was recently awarded the title, Safest City in the United States to be a cat or dog. I volunteer in the shelter system here, so I can tell you some of how we're doing it.
First of all we are lucky to have an amazing community that supports the shelter system wholeheartedly. There are no pet stores where cats or dogs can be purchased. As a result of the community support we are able to fundraise quite successfully. We also have an animal care hospital that is connected to the shelter. It is like any other animal hospital, and it costs the same as going to any other vet, but its profits feed into the shelter system rather than into investors pockets.
We have a great feral cat program that I have gotten the chance to work with. We have dedicated volunteers who will go to your house and assist you in trapping feral cats. We then fix them, vet check them, rabies vaccinate them and return them. Without them reproducing these populations go down rather quickly. Feral cats generally have a lifespan of about 6-8 years. We also allow members of the community to borrow traps, and they can bring any cats they catch into our spay/neuter days, which we hold three times a week. These clinics are free for cats from San Francisco, and discounted for cats from other places. We notch the cats ear both to protect them as a recognized member of a controlled cat colony, and to save them the stress of being recaptured.
The second prong of our plan is helping people who are trying to be responsible pet guardians but who may lack the funds. We offer shot clinics in neighborhoods where pet numbers are high and funds are low. At these shot clinics we often hand out vouchers for free spay/neuter to pet owners in need. At our pet hospital people are able to work with the staff to create payment plans in order to save their pets so that they can avoid putting a pet into the shelter system because it becomes ill or is injured.
We also offer classes in responsible pet guardianship, both for children and adults. If you take one of our puppy classes we will discount your adoption fee by 50%.
The number of animals in San Francisco entering the shelter system is now half of what it had been previously. We are now at the point where we are able to help nearby cities that are still struggling by taking in some of their cats and dogs. I'm proud to be one of the many volunteers who help keep this system going.
