Fort Worth, Texas - Trying To Make Euthanizing Animals A Thing Of The Past.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

http://cbs11tv.com/pets/pet.adoption.program.2.1693100.html

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ― The City of Fort Worth euthanized about 2,500 adoptable animals in 2009. But early into a new public/private adoption program, city code compliance workers hope they can drop that number to zero.

As a code compliance director who loves animals, Brandon Bennett is glowing about the success of his new adoption program. "It's an awesome thing," Bennett said as he gently scratched behind the ears of small dog lying at his side as it waits to be adopted.

Teaming with Petsmart and private donors, the city offers its shelter animals through a Petsmart store on Hulen Street in south Fort Worth. The store's charities division provided the space and its staff will often work with the animals for basic obedience training. The transportation and care of the animals falls mostly to city employees.

The space has an area with several cages for the dogs, an area to bathe and treat the animals and a separate area housing the cats. There's a large, glassed-in area where people can interact with the animals they're interested in adopting. The location of the glass-walled visitation area at the back of the store draws interest the animals might not otherwise receive.

"Actually, we just came in to get spray for the dog and we started looking around and said, 'Hey look over here,'" said Mark Medina, who was looking at the dogs in the center.

"Aaaaaw! Don't they look cute," cooed Rebecca Flores, a store customer. "They're sad. Somebody needs to get them!"

That type of interest has raised pet adoptions in the city 130%. For the first time, Fort Worth has gone nearly three weeks without euthanizing a single animal.

"We actually have gone through more adoptable pets than we have capacity for," Bennett said. "We're working with the Humane Society and other groups so when we have available cages here, we go and pick up their animals."

What this means for the animal control center is something they haven't really had before: Empty cages and lots of them. They had two hundred adoptions in just two weeks. They're animals that otherwise would have been destroyed.

"This is one of those times in your life, you know, where you say, 'I counted for something,'" Bennett said speaking about his staff, private donors and Petsmart Charities.

Now the city is looking for a similar collaboration in the north Fort Worth / Keller area. And they hope Petsmart will be able to expand the concept across the country.

[Darnell 8,478]

I hate this. I won't be able to get Dog in FT. Worth anymore at my fav resturant. grrrr.. @#$@#$@#$$

(Seriously)

[Nagishkaw 510]

[Obama 2012 1,714]

I hate this. I won't be able to get Dog in FT. Worth anymore at my fav resturant. grrrr.. @#$@#$@#$$

(Seriously)

[ValerieA 350]

I'm surprised this is just starting in the US. The PetSmarts in Ontario, if not all of Canada, have been doing this as long as I can remember. It's a good program, although it did not totally alleviate the problem, there were still animals that had to be put down.

Hmmm. When I check the PetSmart link, it says it is across Canada and the U.S. Strange.

http://www.petsmartcharities.org/programs/adoption.php

Edited May 14, 2010 by ValerieA