1 June 2012
I met Stephen Plyler at the DFW No Kill Workshop in March. A volunteer, he had been hard at work to transform his city’s animal shelter to no kill. At the workshop, Stephen took a lot of notes and asked questions during our Q&A session; he has continued his hard work and the results speak! In the two months immediately following the DFW No Kill Workshop, Pilot Point has saved almost all of their shelter animals and achieved a 96% save rate. Following is Stephen’s announcement:
“Alva,
As you know my battle to get Pilot Point’s shelter to improve it’s animals services. The euthanized at nearly 50% during the past year. Well, after approaching city council and convincing them to act they signed a contract with All American Dogs a private animal shelter provider who provides animal control for many small cities. I then partner with them as a RESCUE PARTNER (something like APA did in Austin)… Well so far in the last two months of handling over 100’s of animals we have acheive a 96% live exit rate. So we have only a 4% euth rate. I’m so excited that all the hard work has paid off… And the best part of it is we saved so many animals… Can you please this story? We want to keep this up but need the continued support of the community… I think this is a prime example of what can be done. All American dogs handles 11 communities all rural and all dump areas but we have managed to save ALL ADOPTABLE dogs & cats.
Thank you for you support.. you have been a big supporter and help in these efforts.
Stephen Plyler
Pilot Point Animal Shelter Volunteer”
If you ever wonder if “one person can make a difference” the answer is a definitive YES! Thanks to Stephen and all that work to support his mission to build a no kill Pilot Point, Texas! At Pawsitively Texas, we often say “it takes a village” but every village needs a no kill leader and we are so, so proud of Stephen Plyler’s leadership and vision!
Great article! Isn’t this the sixth Open Admission, No Kill shelter in Texas?
I really want to be happy and thrilled about the news from Pilot Point. However, can you tell me or can Mr. Plyler explain – what happens to the dogs once they arrive at the All American Dog facility? Are they posted somewhere for adoption? Do people come to that facility to adopt a pet? Does being transferred to All American Dog mean the dogs are now at a no-kill facility – or just that they will have a little more time than they would have had at the Pilot Point shelter and the other municipal shelters that move animals to AAD? If they are not adopted from the AAD facility, do they live out their lives there?
There was a wildfire near AAD a week or two back and at that time, the owner stated that there were about 40 dogs there at that time. With the influx of these new dogs – what will the number of animals be now? What happens if there is the threat of another fire? Is there adequate staff to take appropriate care of all these animals?
While I am hoping for the best for these dogs, I have worked in this field for too many decades to be able to jump on any happy wagon – especially when innocent animals are involved. Can you or possibly Mr. Plyler elaborate on what happens to the animals moved from the municipal shelters to this private facility? Thank you.
Hi Beverly, I’ve sent a message to Stephen to stop by and answer your questions. I’ve seen the dogs networked on the Pilot Point Fb page and AAD has pets listed for adoption on their DFW Animal Services website. You can also post your questions on the Pilot Point Fb page and possibly get a more quick reply; I included the Fb link in the article above.
I do not believe any organization is ever staffed to handle a disaster; however, like the recent fire, the Pilot Point folks took the urgent need to the community for help. Bastrop did the same thing last year when the fires ravaged their community. And Fort Worth recently did as well when they suddenly had a lot of pets overcrowding the shelter – they got the media to do stories and many animals were saved. The groups that are proactive in reaching out to the community for help generally stand a better chance at success than the ones that do not. The stats for the ones that think people will just come adopt typically have a high kill rate vs. those that actively take their pets/need to where the people are.
edited: 3:55pm, June 4, 2012 to add Stephen’s reply to your questions, Beverly (received by email):
“Hi Alva,
I will do my best to answer them… All American Dogs is a private company but not a private facility. Dogs are not transferred in…They are Animal Control for 11 small cities. They operate the same as a city shelter except they are not owned by the city but a private entity. So when we say Pilot Point Shelter it is only because it is in Pilot Point. Really that is the shelter for Aubrey, Oak Point, Krum, Pilot Point and 7 other small towns in neighboring counties. It is quite a large operation… They have as many kennels as the Denton shelter…They are working with me to get the dogs out but they can not hold them forever. If the dog gets along with other dogs they are able to hold longer. They are NOT a NO KILL facility. They would be forced to euth if they completely fill up… They have acheived No Kill status because of their willingness to work with me (as their adoption partner) and the marketing tools I have learned over the years and at the No Kill conference. I have full access to the shelter at all times to assist and make sure we are doing everything possible to help save the animals.They list on Petfinder, have a website and even do off site adoption events…not to mention the FB page which I man and have had great success with even doing long distance adoptions…You can adopt by coming to the facility anytime if you let them know you are coming. They have met adopters at 10 pm at night…They are staff adequately to handle between 40-50 dogs… As far as the fire issue that is such a hypothetical. I’m not sure there is a shelter in the state that could evacuate 40 dogs in 2 minutes which is how long they had when they realized they were in the path. So the ACO and staff f helped the fire fighter fight off the fire to save the animals. I think considering the fire started in a neighboring property and grew in minutes to a monster they did a wonderful job. Hope this explains it all.
Stephen “
This is great news! We will be sure to share this with Sanger. Thanks for giving all animals a chance. If we had more folks like you, there would be less need for trouble makers like us. Give us a shout sometime.
Sam and Kelli
Awesome! Another North Texas shelter goes No Kill! One by one they will all become No Kill!
I got my two puppies there! Yes, they let you come out to the shelter. They were very nice and reply to calls/emails quickly. They paid for my puppies to get fixed when they were old enough (even though it was after they were placed with me). They made the appointment within days of me calling to say they were ready and even offered to give them a ride to the place. They gave me a deal since I was taking two puppies while they were overloaded with pups. They already had a litter but another was dumped at a dumpster in the cold and they couldn’t turn them away. I actually went to look at puppies they posted on their Facebook page but ended up falling in love with two from the other litter. I mean it was a shelter, a smelly place with noisy animals packed in. But they seemed to really care for and look out for the best interest of the animals.