Susan Houser
New Book on Animal Shelter History
Prodigal Pets: A History of Animal Sheltering in America and the Origin of the No Kill Movement by Susan K. Houser. An in-depth look at...
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Susan Houser
- Dec 5, 2018
- 9 min
Doobert: A Versatile Way to Save Lives
I recently interviewed Chris Roy, the creator of Doobert.com, about how Doobert can be used to help shelter workers and rescuers do their...
Susan Houser
- Oct 11, 2018
- 8 min
Virginia’s No Kill Effort: Innovation and Inspiration
Introduction Last year I wrote about a new statewide No Kill campaign in Virginia. The campaign was developed by Makena Yarbrough,...
Susan Houser
- Aug 5, 2018
- 8 min
Are Cats an Invasive Species as Defined by the U.S. Government?
When cat advocates try to establish programs to help and manage outdoor cats, they frequently meet resistance from wildlife...
Susan Houser
- Jul 25, 2018
- 2 min
What’s New at OTFD
A lot has been happening at Out the Front Door (OTFD) lately. Today I want to introduce a new website for OTFD, a new book to be...
Susan Houser
- Jul 5, 2018
- 16 min
The Future of Sheltering
What will animal shelters look like in the years ahead – in 2030, 2040, 2050? What functions will they serve in their communities? These...
Susan Houser
- Jun 25, 2018
- 4 min
Maddie’s Pet Forum: A New Way to Communicate
Did you ever wish there was a place online where you could go with questions about shelter lifesaving and quickly get answers from...
Susan Houser
- May 9, 2018
- 9 min
Fostering: A Keystone Program — Interview with Kristen Auerbach
I recently had the opportunity to interview Kristen Auerbach, head of the Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) in Tucson, Arizona. Before...
Susan Houser
- Apr 24, 2018
- 7 min
The Culture of Adoption
Many communities in the United States have a high intake of animals at the local shelter. The consulting service Humane Network recently...
Susan Houser
- Apr 16, 2018
- 7 min
Nevada’s New Statewide Pet Lifesaving Campaign
This month, Maddie’s Fund is commencing a three-year effort to make Nevada a state where all healthy and treatable animals are saved. The...
Susan Houser
- Apr 10, 2018
- 11 min
“How Can I Reform the Shelter in My City?”
I get this question frequently on social media, and there is no short answer, so I decided to write a blog on the topic. As a preliminary...
Susan Houser
- Mar 26, 2018
- 5 min
Rescue Buying of Puppy Mill Breeding Stock – Good or Bad?
There’s considerable controversy over whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing for rescues to buy puppy mill breeding stock at auctions....
Susan Houser
- Mar 11, 2018
- 6 min
The Game Changer: How San Antonio Pets Alive! Turned the Tide in San Antonio’s Goal to Save Lives
With the terrific progress of No Kill in San Antonio, I thought my readers might be interested in a report from San Antonio Pets Alive...
Susan Houser
- Feb 18, 2018
- 6 min
The Perspective of the Rescuer
In many communities rescuers are the backbone of the No Kill effort. They pull animals from the shelter, including the ones most in need...
Susan Houser
- Jan 1, 2018
- 6 min
January 1, 2018
This blog takes a look at the big trends in No Kill in 2017, but first I want to say a word about sheltering in 2018. We’ve made...
Susan Houser
- Dec 18, 2017
- 6 min
The Future of Sheltering
This is the fifth and final blog in my series on the professionalization of the animal shelter, and it covers an important part of...
Susan Houser
- Nov 29, 2017
- 9 min
On the Same Page
In the last few years, the idea that traditional shelters are fundamentally at odds with No Kill shelters has been evaporating....
Susan Houser
- Oct 23, 2017
- 9 min
Three Waves of No Kill
This is a very exciting time for No Kill advocates because we are entering on a third, and final, stage of No Kill progress.* In just a...
Susan Houser
- Oct 11, 2017
- 9 min
Creating A Safety Net for Pets
An animal shelter is more than just the sum of its internal programs. It’s also a public institution that has an interlocking...
Susan Houser
- Oct 1, 2017
- 10 min
The Professionalization of Animal Sheltering, Part 1: Inventory Management
In the last few years several new programs have become central to the professionalization of animal sheltering. One theme common to those...
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