Living Up to the Trust Pets Put in Us

By Bonney Brown

This past weekend I was at the No More Homeless Pets Conference in Las Vegas with over 1,400 other animal sheltering professionals and advocates. To say that it was inspiring to be among so many dedicated people would be a vast understatement. You could feel the energy and enthusiasm!

Jackson Galaxy, AKA Cat Daddy, of Animal Planet’s  My Cat From Hell  and Sherry Woodard of National Geographic’s Dogtown  shared their top animal behavior tips to help pets in shelters. Elizabeth Doyle, author of many romance novels  now turned animal writer, shared how we can write more effective profiles to get pets adopted. Joyce Briggs of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs shared the next generation of birth control methods for pets. I was honored to have the opportunity to talk about our work here at Nevada Humane Society in hopes that some of the programs that have worked for us can help animals in other communities.

 At the conclusion of the conference, Julie Castle of Best Friends Animal Society talked about what we have achieved for homeless pets and about the model that animals provide for our work. Julie said that while Fido is the best known of all dog names, she had never met a dog named Fido—come to think of it, neither have I. While Fido has fallen out of favor as a dog’s name, it seems to have permanently entered into our language. Fido, Julie explained, is Latin for “I am faithful.”  Suddenly, Fido meant more than a generic name for dogs; it became an added inspiration for our work on behalf of the animals.

Those of us who care for animals strive to honor the trust they put in us and the responsibility we have by virtue of their dependence–through doing the very best we can for them.  It gave me renewed appreciation for all of you who have supported our efforts to save homeless animals. You have made our lifesaving work possible by volunteering, donating, and adopting pets. Gandhi said that a community and “its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  Immanuel Kant wrote that “we can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”

The citizens of this community can feel proud of the way homeless dogs and cats are treated here and what that tells the world about us.

Events that Help Animals

The Race for the Right House is on! Adopt Your Favorite Re-PUP-lican or Demo-CAT at Nevada Humane Society. Adult cat and dog adoptions are free. Kittens are $40. All candidates are spayed or neutered,  vaccinated and microchipped. Call 775-856-2000 or come to NHS at 2825 Longley Lane between Rock and Miraloma Blvd. in Reno. Open daily for pet adoptions.