AWLA Hawk

Our previous comparisons have been based on CY 2008 data for these organizations, which we’ve compared to the results published in Pawpourri for AWLA’s FY2009, which ended in June, 2009. (If AWLA were as committed to full disclosure as its leading peers, it would use the more-detailed Maddies Fund table and post the results on its website.)

The animal outcomes data for 2009 should be available soon and allow for updated comparisons, so let’s summarize the essential data from 2008 before we move on. These percentages are for cats and dogs and exclude lost-and-found animals and owner-requested euthanizations.

A or T = adopted out or transferred to a rescue organization

Like the other organizations listed, AWLA is an open access shelter and must accept any animal offered to it. Some of these are terminally ill animals brought by their owners to be euthanized. Others have been separated from their owners and are quickly reclaimed. Handling animals in these categories is straightforward, and AWLA should and does do its job in these situations.

But what separates an effective animal shelter from an underperformer is how it handles the other animals it is required to accept, i.e. the healthy or treatable cats and dogs that are surrendered by their owners or brought in as strays. These are the truly homeless and friendless animals for whom the shelter offers the last chance at finding a loving family and living a full life. We’ve seen recently what is possible for animals like these.

And this is where — despite its larger resources and the smaller task it confronts — AWLA fails to meet the standard set by its peers. The difference is compassionate leadership that is committed to doing what it takes to save as many animals as possible. The best animal shelters have it. Unfortunately for Arlington’s neediest animals, AWLA does not.