National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week takes place during the first full week of November — November 5–11 this year — in recognition of the various shelters that provide care to millions of displaced animals in America. Yes, millions!
This week’s observance also serves to acknowledge the hard-working people supporting the efforts with their work at the shelters. Local shelters are great at finding new homes for homeless pets, but it’s not all they do. They rescue and rehabilitate injured or abused animals too, and they reunite lost pets with their original families. They serve communities by saving their animals every day.
As National Today reports, the term ‘animal shelter’ originated after the use of ‘pound,’ as in ‘dog pound,’ took on a negative connotation. Pounds were enclosures where lost livestock and pets, seen as a public health hazard, were ‘impounded’ until their owners found them, but they would become known as the place such animals were killed. This led to the change of name to a more positive ‘animal rescue shelter.’ Animal shelters care for, return, or re-home, lost or neglected pets. Today, shelters also reach out to the veterinary community for guidance on both the physical and behavioral health of these animals, eliminating the stigma that animals in shelters are unhealthy. Shelter animals are well-cared-for, great candidates for pet adoption.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was established in 1866 as the first organization for animal welfare in the U.S. focused initially on horses. Several non-affiliated humane societies were founded in other cities, and at first, dog licenses that protected public safety and private property rather than the animals were issued to fund the societies. The Pennsylvania SPCA was the first society to focus on the welfare of shelter animals in 1874. Before the 1970s, shelters focused on the humane euthanasia of animals that were not adopted or reclaimed after a long time. By the mid-70s, veterinary medicine was introduced along with preventative care and treatment programs. There is still no federal system regulating shelters, and some of the guidelines for animal care remain undeveloped.
The Humane Society of the United States founded National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week in 1996 to acknowledge and appreciate the role of animal shelters in communities all over the country. This holiday encourages the public to understand the level of work involved in caring for animals and to volunteer to help at their local animal shelter. The annual event acknowledges the hard-working people who support the shelters and help in keeping the pets healthy. According to reports, there are about 70 million stray animals in the United State, with up to eight million ending up in shelters. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that each year, only three million of these animals get adopted from the 3,500 animal shelters around the country.
Many animal shelters are non-profit. This means they depend on donations and grants to stay open even when the service they provide is so vital to civil orderliness. Shelters primarily serve the function of finding a home for stray animals, but they also facilitate reuniting lost pets with their house owners and may provide animal health services, behavioral evaluations, training, pet-sitting, grooming, and humane education. Although they play a crucial role in society, animal shelter staff work tirelessly to rescue and help animals for often below-average wages, making it even more important to dedicate a special holiday to thank them.
So the best way you can show your appreciation for all the hard work your local animal shelters and rescue organizations do? Donate! Volunteer! And say, “Thank You!”
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