NSPCA never runs out of adoptable animals

At the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter at 4800 Dewey Drive, there's never room at the inn.

"We're always at full capacity," said Doug Duke, executive director. "We have 750 here. We can't make that 800. There's never a day when we're sitting around with empty kennels waiting to be filled."

There are several things that make the NSPCA shelter different from similar facilities and organizations in the area. One is that it's a "no-kill" shelter; homes are found for all animals, regardless of how long they're in residence. Another is that the shelter doesn't discriminate.

"We have many species here that I don't know of another group taking," Duke said. Those would include pot-bellied pigs, ducks, rabbits, peacocks, guinea pigs and ferrets, among others.

And the NSPCA takes in mixed-breed animals.

"We try to accept everybody we possibly can," he said.

Space limitations sometimes dictate whether an animal can be accepted, but Duke said if a person in search of refuge for his or her animal is willing and able to wait until a space opens up, the shelter will try to work it out. The NSPCA also takes in a lot of animals from "death row" at other shelters, he noted. Duke said there's a lot of cooperation between government-run shelters and various related organizations.

"The overpopulation crisis is so severe, the only way to make the best impact is for all the groups to work together closely," he said.

It's all toward the goal of finding loving, permanent homes, which the organization expects to do for 3,500 to 4,000 animals this year, thanks to its latest expansion in the fall, one of three in the past five years.

Duke said great care is taken to be sure the right animal is matched with the person hoping to adopt one. They focus on personalities and lifestyles, as opposed to color, size or age.

"People will call and say they want a gray kitten or they want an orange tabby," he said. "That's not generally somebody we can help, because that's not going to be a lifetime home. These are individuals. We think of it not as a gray kitten but as Sarah.

"We're trying to change the way people regard animals. We want them to regard them as family members, as loving beings who trust and need them."

In some cases, an employee or volunteer will work with an animal to make it more adoptable.

"When you really buckle down and figure out what it takes to get every animal into a home, the volunteers respond to that, the public responds to it," Duke said. "It's a miracle for each of the animals."

Adoption rates run from $75 to $150 for dogs, with higher rates for puppies because more is required to prepare them for adoption. The fee includes spaying or neutering, all major vaccines and microchip identification, and they're sent home with a bag of food and a free veterinary checkup.

For cats, the fee is $60 -- $75 for a kitten -- which includes all of the above plus a leukemia test and a scratching post. Adoption fees for other species vary.

"Adoption fees don't even begin to cover the costs of operating," but only the costs associated with adoptions, he said. The NSPCA is supported by private donations.

Duke said the group's 300 volunteers do what they're best suited to, including walking dogs, brushing cats and helping out at adoption events. And, he said, "we always need more volunteers who are committed."

For more information on the NSPCA, to view the animals currently available for adoption or for information on making a donation or volunteering, visit www.nevadaspca.org. Or call 873-7722.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0474.