Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America | 
 enlarge | Author: Nathan J. Winograd
Publisher: Almaden Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 13812
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 238
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0979074304
Dewey Decimal Number: 179.30973
EAN: 9780979074301
ASIN: 0979074304
Publication Date: September 1, 2007
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Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! 2007 Paperback.
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Product Description
Redemption is theÊstory of animal sheltering in the United States, a movement that was born of compassion and then lost its way. It is the story of the 'No Kill' movement, which says we can and must stop the killing. But most of all, it is a story about believing in the community and trusting in the power of compassion.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 Required reading for anyone connected to animal shelters!! September 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book turned out to be exactly what I was hoping to find. It contains the solution to preventing 5 million cat and dog deaths (killings) each year. "No Kill" is more complex than just keeping all the homeless animals and excepting no more when the space is full, in the book Winograd outlines the 10 programs that, take together and executed mindfully, will drastically reduce euthanasia rates..instantly!
 Hateful and misleading September 14, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
It is a tragedy that millions of healthy, adoptable companion animals are euthanized each year in the U.S. Conventional thinking on the cause of this tragedy focuses on the overpopulation of companion animals: there are too many cats and dogs available and too few adopters. Shelters do not have the resources to keep up with the constant supply of animals.
In Redemption, Nathan Winograd disagrees with the conventional thinking. He argues that the problem is rooted in the policies of animal welfare organizations and animal control agencies. And if shelters would embrace the No Kill policies, the killing can be prevented.
While the first chapter on the early history of animal welfare in the US is interesting and the second appendix on how to implement No Kill policies is useful, the remainder of the book is filled with polarizing diatribes. At times Winograd's writing is so over the top, even Ann Coulter would be proud. As such I cannot recommend this book.
Much of the book is about denigrating others and placing blame. He could have written a book that was appropriately critical of animal welfare policies without burning the very bridges he needs to get his policies in place.
While there is a lot to criticize over past policies, after reading this book you'd think the Humane Society of the U.S., various ASPCAs, and most animal control officers are heartless bastards who would as soon put a dog down as have a cup of coffee. I'm not exaggerating - much of his ranting is hyperbolic; for example, at one point he actually associates people who want to protect native habitats with Nazis and apartheid South Africa!
Much of the book is polarizing. Even the term "No Kill" is polarizing (if you aren't a no kill shelter, you must be a kill shelter). Mr. Winograd constantly makes the false dichotomy that if you don't believe in these policies you must support killing.
Many of his arguments are weak or illogical. For example, take his argument about the "myth" of pet overpopulation. This is probably the most important argument he must make - if there is an overpopulation of animals, then No Kill cannot be achieved. He makes 2 claims to support the "myth" of overpopulation: 1) there are empty cages at shelters, and 2) the number of houses that become available for new adoptions (as pets pass away) outnumbers the number of available animals. His first argument is naïve - there are many reasons why shelters leave open kennels (and he'd be hard pressed to find more than one or 2 open kennels at many of the shelters around where I live). The second argument is unsubstantiated - he gives no numbers or citations to back the claim. Actually there is a third component to his argument not identified in the chapter of the "myth" of pet overpopulation- feral cats don't count. But I digress.
Winograd uses all the argument tricks modern politicians are so adept at. He boldly knocks down straw-man arguments. He takes things out of context. He tells only those parts of the story that support his argument. For example, he insinuates that PETA supported the employee who was killing puppies in the back of the van and throwing them into dumpsters. While I'm no big fan of PETA, I do know that the organization went out of its way to denounce these actions and made it clear that it was not their policy. Anyway, Winograd uses these types of misleading arguments throughout the book.
There are numerous shelters, private and municipal, that while not fully embracing "No Kill" policies, implement many of them (strong foster programs, trap/neuter/release for feral cats, convenient hours for adoptions, having adoption events outside the shelter, low cost spay/neutering, etc.). These policies are working to reduce the overpopulation of companion animals. Yet at times Mr. Winograd seems to even despise these shelters for not fully embracing the policy. Appendix I has a No Kill declaration with this classic line that pretty much sums up his attitude: "Now, therefore, be it resolved that No Kill policies and procedures are the only legitimate foundation for animal sheltering."
Clearly Mr. Winograd is outraged by the amount of euthanasia. I can understand that; I am too. But his ranting and hyperbole does No Kill no good. So instead of buying this book, I suggest donating to a local shelter. And the time you would have spent reading this book? Use it to volunteer at a local shelter.
Ignorant September 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
There's no such thing as "No Kill Shelters"! "Limited Intake Shelters" on the other hand,
are becoming increasingly popular. And how do you think they affect the "kill-percentage"
of those shelters picking up what's left behind after the "No Kills" have taken the most adoptable,
the puppies,the small dogs,the pure breds and the cuties?
And where do the most "valuable" volunteers spend their spare time?
The ones with fund raising experience? With a marketing background?
Or the ones with jobs in an environment where it'is possible to raise a
decent amount of money by selling cookies to coworkers or employees?
I have a hard time understanding how so many people can be totally blind,
or totally ignorant. Does anyone really believe this has to do with differences
in management or operations style?
The facts might be rough,but that does not give anyone an excuse to
ignore them.
Maybe it's the whole shelter-consept that's wrong...
Then again,I'm just a Birdbrain
Bodil
What an angry little book August 17, 2008
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Don't be mislead by the subtitle. This book does nothing to the debunk the "myth" of pet overpopulation. It also doesn't talk about the "no kill revolution."
The author's entire argument that overpopulation is a myth is based on his insanely simplistic calculation that the number of owned animals that die or run off each year far outnumbers those that enter shelters each year, so the real problem is simply proper marketing of shelter animals as replacements for those who die or run away. (Let's just ignore that the bulk of potential adopters, and the bulk of shelter dogs, may not be geographically anywhere near one another.)
Know what? There's also enough food to feed everyone on the planet. Why on earth are people still starving? Because MATH is not a SOLUTION. And wishing something DOESN'T make it so.
I'm not saying shelters aren't horrible at marketing their animals - most are. There is huge room for reform in animal sheltering. Humane Societies in particular have an obligation to focus on reducing intake numbers and increasing adoption numbers. So, what about this "no kill revolution?" How do we make this work?
The author doesn't say. For nearly 200 pages, I clung to the hope that somewhere, at some point, he would stop attacking the "old school" shelters and national humane organizations long enough to outline the No Kill Equation, detail HOW it was implemented in San Franciso and, later, in Tompkins County, and present a replicable plan for implementation around the country. Never happened. Apparently, he waltzed into Tompkins County, declared they would never kill another animal, and instantly there were enough volunteers, donations, and participating vets to implement all the programs (TNR, fostering, remote adoptions, rescue outreach, low-cost spay/neuter) that make up the No Kill Equation.
Yeah. I don't think so.
Not only does he fail to share how these programs came to be successful, he fails to suggest how to keep them successful. San Francisco did not stay "no kill" once its visionary director left. Southern Hope (an Atlanta rescue that made great strides in Fulton County) lost their contract to a lower bidder. How do those who have embraced no kill, keep it? He doesn't say.
Sadly, I feel at this point that the author did not intend in this book to promote "no kill"; rather, he wanted a very public outlet to vent his frustrations with animal shelters, humane societies, and most especially the HSUS. He does so throughout the book, using manipulative word choices, partial quotations possibly taken out of context (who knows? he doesn't cite his sources), and unreferenced "studies" galore.
On the very last page (barring the appendices, which seem afterthoughts), Mr. Winograd gives the only recommendation in the entire text (and I'm going to do him the courtesy he did not do others, by quoting the entire sentence): "Consequently, the most important single act - and the crucial first step - in achieving a No Kill nation is firing the current leadership of shelters across the country."
That's great. Now we all know exactly what to do. Thanks. Anyone who truly wants to work toward no-kill will need to look elsewhere for guidance (the Model Programs at Best Friends Animal Society's No More Homeless Pets page are more helpful and uplifting).
Towards a No Kill Nation July 23, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Granted, Winograd is a lawyer and not a writer, but the book is still interesting, well written, informative, alarming, infuriating, heartwarming, and inspiring. It is also fantastic because not only does it expose extreme irresponsibility and ineptitude on a grand scale, it offers sound advice and step by step instruction for remedying and improving the situation. It calls one to action rather than riling you up just to say "Doesn't this suck? Yes, it does! The end." It tells us how to end the killing, how to improve the lives of shelter animals, and how to reduce the number of animals entering shelters in the first place.
I highly recommend this book. I finished it in two days because it was just so hard to put down. Really illuminating and inspiring.
A No Kill nation is within our reach, if only we demand it. The animals deserve nothing less!
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