The Chicago Shift
Animal control takes progressive, open approach
Mueller gives great credit to the current leadership of animal control for its willingness to be progressive, and its desire to work with other organizations on animal transfers, in order to find homes for the most animals possible.
Sobel acknowledges that many of the positive changes at animal control began about six years ago, during Mueller's 18-month tenure as director of the city department. She says current director Nikki Proutsos has continued that tradition of reform, welcoming with open arms the contributions of volunteers and other rescues and shelters, and trying to focus on preventative measures such as spay/neuter and education.
We have done a complete 180. Before, there were locked doors - no one was allowed here. Now we have completely changed the culture," she says. Now, animal control works cooperatively with the other members of CASA, including the Anti-Cruelty Society.
Sobel says she sees no reason to change the current approach toward homeless pets in Chicago, because it has been working.
"We just have to keep doing what we are doing. Placement through adoption and transfers is up 150 percent, and euthanasia is down 20 percent," she says.
When is some progress not enough?
The real question is whether the current approach is improving the situation fast enough, says Richard Avanzino, president of Maddie's Fund, a private foundation that provides grants to organizations to help bring about the day when every pet is guaranteed a loving home.
"Obviously, if a model in a community is working, there is no need to try to fix it. There is no reason to change for change's sake," he says. "But if animals are still being killed in huge numbers, which I understand is what is happening in Chicago, then to try a new approach is not only courageous, but very appropriate."
Avanzino had no involvement in the Anti-Cruelty Society's policy shift, but notes that it seems similar to the approach that has worked in communities across the country, most notably in San Francisco. Under Avanzino's leadership, the San Francisco SPCA started to phase out its animal control responsibilities in 1984, focusing its efforts on animal sterilization and adoption. The success of this program was made clear in 1994, when San Francisco became the nation's first no-kill city.
"Sometimes it takes a break from the status quo, and leadership in stepping forward to implement change, because that's the only way animals will be saved, and they deserve nothing less," Avanzino says.
Although the situation in Chicago is improving, the prospects for homeless animals there are still quite bleak. According to Mueller, about 40,000 animals enter the shelter system each year, and as many as 24,000 are euthanized. Chicago's euthanasia rate of about 10.6 animals killed for every 1,000 persons is below the national average, but lags far behind the progress that has been made in some other major cities.
It is this comparison that is key to Avanzino.
"One way to evaluate your progress is to look at the rest of the country. I don't think anybody should try to copy in whole cloth what others are doing, but it is smart to take a look at the communities that are making faster progress than you are, to see if there is something to be learned there," he says.
"If we look at each animal's death as a tragedy, then we can't take comfort that we have come a long way, and only about 4.5 million are dying nationwide now. That can tell us that we are doing better, but as long as animals are dying, we haven't done enough."
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