NONPROFIT by KELSEY CIPOLLA | photos courtesy of WAYSIDE WAIFS
A Home for the Holidays. For most, the holidays mean heading home to celebrate with loved ones — but some furry members of our community aren’t so lucky. Throughout the metro, many dogs, cats, and other animals will be waiting to meet their future families in shelters. Winter can be a little slower for pet adoptions, says Tori Fugate, KC Pet Project’s director of marketing and communications, but the shelter constantly engages with the community through adoption specials and events. A public-private partnership, the organization is a nonprofit that has served as Kansas City, Missouri’s shelter since 2011, taking in strays as well as surrendered animals throughout the city. KC Pet Project now cares for 10,000 animals each year. “We took over this shelter that had a long history of euthanizing animals, and the city wanted something different,” Fugate says. “We knew we could do better and at least try to save more lives, and since 2011 we have been saving over 90 percent of the animals that have come into the shelter.”
Last year, the shelter adopted out more than 6,700 animals and reunited more than 1,200 pets and owners. And KC Pet Project’s success isn’t just good news for Kansas City animals — it’s become an example and resource for other organizations around the country. “So many other shelters in bigger cities have reached out to us asking how we’ve done it, and they are wanting to use the same model in their cities to save lives,” Fugate explains.
RESCUES UNLEASHED A passion for helping animals led Danielle Reno to found another area shelter, Unleashed Pet Rescue, in 2011. Today, Unleashed gets about 100 animals in each week, housing them in the shelter or placing them with foster families. Its foster program is extensive, with 500 animals currently being cared for, says Rebecca Taylor, Unleashed’s social media and public relations director. Unleashed also brings in animals from other regional shelters that are struggling to find homes and rescues
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