Hawaii animal shelter is open door

Question: Why can't the Humane Society be a no-kill shelter like other sanctuaries in Hawaii?

Answer: "Kill" and "no kill" are terms that stir up emotions among animal lovers. Such inflammatory misnomers can prevent the public from recognizing that that there are two kinds of animal shelters: limited and open-admission.

The Hawaiian Humane Society will always serve as an open-door shelter, never refusing animals based on age, health status or shelter capacity. Limited-admission shelters often must close their doors once full -- or limit admission based on certain criteria.

Q: As someone faced with surrendering a pet, will a kill or no-kill shelter best serve my animal?

A: First, it's important to understand that both types of shelters have important things in common. Both aim to end pet overpopulation. Both believe that euthanasia is the sad responsibility of some animal welfare organizations that neither desired nor sought the task.

Your most important concern should be the organization's ability to provide quality health care and accommodations, as well as its adoption success rate.

The Humane Society finds homes for about 95 percent of animals available for adoption. That's nearly 6,000 pets placed with loving families in 2006. And it continues to work toward a goal of zero euthanasia of all healthy, treatable pets.

But it's not a goal the Humane Society can accomplish alone. If all prospective pet owners chose adoption, fewer animals would be homeless. More pet owners might be able to keep their animal companions for life if pet-friendly housing were available and if personal responsibility ensured that animals were sterilized, well socialized and trained.