Organization strives for "No More Homeless Pets".

• Position: Special Advertising Section

NO MORE HOMELESS PETS IN UTAH, a statewide coalition of animal welfare groups, is already making great strides toward its goal of eliminating the euthanasia of adoptable pets in Utah by 2005.

The coalition is working through a two-pronged effort: Finding permanent homes for healthy animals, through traditional agencies, no-kill shelters and temporary foster homes, and encouraging spaying and neutering to control the overall numbers of unwanted dogs and cats.

Participating no-kill rescue groups and shelters (including Animal Oasis, CAWS and Wasatch Humane) find homes for adoptable animals through regularly scheduled weekend adoption days at area PETsMARTs and Furburbia (a pet adoption center at Salt Lake City's Cottonwood Mall), on specially scheduled Super Adoptions, and by posting photos and descriptions on NMHP's online adoption database, www.utahpets.org. Animals also continue to be rescued and held as long as possible by participating traditional animal welfare agencies, such as county animal control facilities and Humane Society shelters.

The spaying/neutering aspect of the program has two arms: educating the public about the numbers of unwanted kittens and puppies born -- and needlessly euthanized -- each year, and helping make it more convenient for people to take responsibility for controlling their animals' reproduction by offering low-cost vouchers for spaying/neutering and, in some areas, services such as mobile spay/neuter clinics.

Reducing the numbers of unnecessary euthanasias is no small task: In 1999, 85,000 cats and dogs were impounded by Utah's rescue groups and animal shelters; 46,000 were killed statewide. Of the 46,000 cats and dogs killed, approximately 15,000 were adoptable. That's no negligible number of unnecessary deaths.

But NMHP in Utah is helping shrink that number. During the program's first year, 2000-2001, dog and cat adoptions rose 25 percent in Utah animal shelters, while shelter deaths declined 10 percent. The adoption goal for NMHP's first year was to boost the number of cats and dogs placed in loving homes by 3,034. The coalition exceeded its goal, finding homes for 4,818 dogs and cats. A second goal was to decrease shelter deaths by 3,034 dogs and cats. Again...