No-kill animal shelter housed

Thursday, Sept. 25, 1997 | 10:44 a.m.

Jay, a pit bull terrier, was abandoned when he was 6 weeks old and his life could have ended a scant one week later had he been brought to the pound.

Instead, he wound up at the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' no-kill shelter.

"It took us 2 1/2 years to find a home for him," said Joanne Holt, shelter manager of the 5-year-old organization. "He was a fear biter who needed a lot of attention and training."

Today, Jay lives in a Las Vegas home, where he romps on several acres of land and is a fine companion to his owners.

As the SPCA moves this week to a larger shelter adjacent to the Clark County pound at the Dewey Animal Care Center, its organizers are hopeful that more success stories like Jay's will occur.

"We believe that with a little extra time, we can find the right person for the right animal -- I guess we are like a dating service," said Jennifer Palombi, president of the local SPCA.

"We have adopted out old animals, blind animals, three-legged animals and larger animals. We have found homes for 4,000 animals" at the 650 White Drive shelter and at area Petsmart stores since 1993.

Palombi knows of nowhere else in the United States where a kill shelter and a no-kill shelter operate side-by-side. The SPCA's new $3.3 million shelter is slated to open Oct. 1 on the northwest corner of the Dewey facility at 4800 W. Dewey Drive, off Cameron Street just south of Tropicana Avenue.

"This was originally built with private funds for use by the (now-defunct) Southern Nevada Humane Society, and it has taken 12 years for us to get it," said Palombi, a one-time board member of the old SNHA, who resigned amid a conflict with its president, the late Dart Anthony.

Palombi said she feels she has "come full circle" by moving into in the place with the organization she started after parting ways with Anthony, who was considered a controversial animal rights activist steeped in self-promotion.

Palombi credits Dr. Joseph Freer, a veterinarian who runs the Dewey center, for expediting the SPCA's move.

"I won't even talk kill or no-kill shelters because there is no competition between us," said Freer, who will be the SPCA's new landlord. "We are both doing what we can to help the animals. From Day 1, we've wanted that facility to be used as a second-chance shelter."

For awhile, the facility was planned to be used for expansion purposes. But those plans were scrapped when the city of Las Vegas decided to leave Dewey and re-establish its own pound in the Animal Foundation of Nevada's low-cost spay-neuter facility at 700 N. Mojave Road.

The city pound now plans to become a no-kill shelter. Palombi and Freer are skeptical that will happen.

"The Humane Society of San Francisco, one of the nation's oldest, was able to do it, but they had millions of dollars and a lot of support," Palombi said.

"They (Animal Foundation) certainly want to do what is best for the animals, but I don't see them becoming totally no-kill within two years like they plan."

Palombi said her organization, which can cull animals from death row at the Dewey pound from the third through the seventh day, will be able to save at best about 10 percent of the thousands that are euthanized annually.

Freer said the San Francisco operation includes only "adoptable" animals in its figures.

"It would be just as easy for me to go through here and pick which animals are adoptable and which are not, then call Dewey a no-kill shelter," Freer said.

"My object has always been to put myself out of (the euthanasia) business. But, the only way that will happen is when there is public responsibility -- when pet owners get IDs for their animals and spay and neuter them.

"We are doing our job -- no animal leaves here unless it is spayed or neutered," he said.

Such has long been the practice of the Nevada SPCA.

Palombi noted that the new SPCA shelter will hold 50 dogs and 120 cats, compared to the maximum 20 dogs and 100 cats at the old facility. Because the organization cannot afford an on-staff veterinarian, all spay-neuters are done by area vets at reduced costs.

Each dog cage at the new facility features an indoor portion that is air-conditioned and an outdoor run.

The building also has offices, a hospital room, a recovery room, a food preparation area, four cat rooms and a large underground storage area that is affectionately called "the dungeon."

"We have so much more room and we'll have a new computer system that will help us a lot," said Holt, the wife of a Clark County Animal Control officer.

"We have to be prepared to hold the animals here awhile. While some pets are adopted out almost as they are brought in the door, others, like Jay, take a lot longer. On the average, it takes about two weeks to adopt out an animal."

To prevent being overrun with dogs and cats, the SPCA will urge all pet owners giving up their animals to first bring them to Dewey. The organization will insist on it when they are full.

"We have a waiting list," Palombi said, noting that people will not be able to ease their conscience by taking their unwanted animal to the no-kill shelter instead of the pound.

"They (the pound) has a job to do to make room for more animals that are brought in daily. But Dewey also wants to take steps to lower its euthanasia rate. Hopefully, we will be able to help them with that."

The SPCA adopts out dogs for $50 and cats for $25. Dewey adopts out dogs for $22 and cats for $17. In addition to being spayed or neutered, they also have received all of the necessary tests and shots.

The SPCA operates on a $150,000 annual budget and plans on being neighbors with Dewey for just a few years. It is seeking 10 to 15 acres of donated land to build a state-of-the-art shelter as a permanent home.

"We are real excited about being here," Palombi said. "This is just another step in our efforts to find good homes for animals."

To donate or make inquiries to the SPCA, call 873-SPCA (873-7722).