WARL is a limited-intake shelter with 96 dog and 41 cat kennels. We can only take in animals when a kennel is available.

WARL is the dog pound for several Worcester County towns and the city of Worcester. Many communities have cut animal control from their budget and turn to our shelter to care for their strays. In 2009 over 1,500 animals that came to WARL were strays.

Worcester Animal Rescue League is not…

…A kill shelter – WARL does not place a time or space limit on adoptable pets.

…An open-admission shelter that takes in any animal brought to it. The reality of that policy is when a shelter is full, an animal has to leave for a new one to come in. Worcester Animal Rescue League will not euthanize an animal to make room for a new arrival.  

…A sanctuary where an un-adoptable animal can live out its life. It’s a noble goal that requires an enormous amount of money and space.

In 2009 Worcester Animal Rescue League placed 94%
of its animals.

In 2008, the figure was 80%. Although we are proud that we place more animals every year, we never forget that statistics are actual animals.

What happened to the remaining 6% in 2009?

Sadly, in some cases, there are no other alternatives except euthanasia.

As a pound facility, critically ill and injured animals were brought to WARL to end their suffering as quickly as possible.

Severely aggressive pets were brought to WARL because they were deemed a danger to society. They could not be rehabilitated or transferred to a place where an attempt could be made to rehabilitate them.

Some animals required extensive and expensive medical treatment that WARL could not afford, and all attempts to find an alternate source to fund the treatment failed.

Living in a kennel is stressful for pets. The mental health of the animals at WARL is as important as their physical health. Animals are given toys to stimulate them. Dogs are walked outside and have kennel runs. Cats have a tree house to play in and interact with other cats. Solitary felines can spend alone time in the cat visiting room or relax in one of the offices. Still, despite all these enrichment efforts, a few animals couldn’t cope with living at the shelter, and no other facility or rescue group could be found to take them.

How can you help WARL place 99% of its pets?

It would have been easy to write 100% in the headline, but that would be misleading. We want to be truthful about what happens at Worcester Animal Rescue League. Even in an ideal no-kill shelter or sanctuary there will be occasions when euthanasia is the humane resolution for an animal.

Here are ways you can help WARL reach 99% no-kill in the near future.

Donate
Worcester Animal Rescue League does not receive government funding. The shelter runs on public donations. It is a struggle to meet daily expenses. The monthly electric bill is more than what most families pay per year. Often the shelter runs out of basic supplies like kitty litter, paper towels, detergent, etc. We post emergency requests for food, litter, blankets, etc. on our street sign and web site. People generously bring in supplies. The shelter needs money as well. It’s heartbreaking when there isn’t enough money to buy medications or pay for an emergency surgery.

We also have long-range plans. The shelter’s floor plan is not cat friendly. Cats are in the front of the building, dogs in the rear. Throughout the day, dogs are walked by cats. We’re doing all we can afford to do to alleviate the cats’ stress. Ultimately we want to renovate our shelter or even better, build a new one that enriches our animals’ lives so that they can remain contentedly at the shelter until adopted.    

Volunteer
Worcester Animal Rescue League cannot function without volunteers. We rely deeply on their help to operate the shelter 365 days a year. Volunteer opportunities include, but are not limited to: caring for the pets, cleaning the shelter, laundry, administrative tasks, event assistance, running errands, transporting pets to and from other shelters, and spreading the good word about WARL. We can’t thank our volunteers enough for all they do.

Become a foster parent
Presently WARL has over 75 foster homes, which gives our shelter additional housing for animals. We need more foster parents. The majority of pets placed in foster homes are mother cats and/or kittens that need extra care until they’re mature and healthy enough for adoption. Some pets need a foster home to recover from certain surgeries, or for pets that require one-on-one behavior training. We also have instituted a small, long-term foster program for pet owners who need a temporary home for their pets while they deal with a crisis.

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) for Feral Cats
What is a feral cat? Feral cats are the offspring of lost or abandoned pet cats or other feral cats, and do not typically care for human interaction. Feral cats do not belong in shelters. It’s traumatizing for them and often dangerous for staff. Like many shelters still do, WARL used to euthanize feral cats brought to the shelter. Our policy changed because of the success of TNR programs. Feral cats are trapped, spayed/neutered, then returned to the area they came from to resume their outdoor lives with a human caretaker providing food. Check out TNR online if you are interested in helping this program: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/qa/feral_cat_FAQs.html.

Be a Responsible Pet Owner
Spay and neuter your pets. Even if every man, woman and child in America adopted several dozen animals there would still be pet over-population. The only way to combat the over-population problem is to prevent the animals from being born. On average, a cat can give birth to a litter of kittens 3 times a year. In 7 short years, this one cat could have produced over 100 kittens, which go on to have their own hundreds of kittens. This is just one example of the importance of having your pet spayed or neutered. Otherwise pets will continue to be euthanized in shelters because there aren’t enough people to adopt them.

Take your pets to a veterinarian regularly. Owning a pet can be costly. That’s why WARL offers low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine clinics. But don’t let ear mites, skin and dental conditions and other medical issues go untreated, because it causes unnecessary pain for your pet and a lot of money down the road. There are many pet insurance programs available as well.

Some owners choose to dump their pets rather than pay for veterinary care. Do not abandon your pet for any reason. A domestic animal does not have the skills to survive on its own. If your animal ends up at WARL, we may not have the money to treat its medical issues. An old pet probably won’t survive the stress of being in a shelter. FYI: Animal abandonment is a felony in Massachusetts, punishable by up to a $2500 fine and 5 years in prison.

Adopt – and be open-minded
Animals at WARL undergo behavioral tests, spay/neuter and medical exams before they are approved for adoption. All of them are unique, wonderful animals just waiting for someone to give them a home.

Pit bulls are the most prevalent breed in our shelter. Did you know a Pit Bull isn’t recognized as a breed by all official dog associations? They’re in essence a big mutt. Don’t walk by them without a second glance. Look carefully at their goofy grins and wagging tails that make them wiggle all over. Pit bulls are intelligent, loyal, playful dogs; if only they could sue for defamation of character.

Adult black cats and black dogs are skipped over for more colorful animals. Special needs animals are bypassed for ‘perfect’ pets. You’re walking by some wonderful, delightful animals that will give you love and joy.

There’s nothing “wrong” with a shelter pet except the human decisions that made the animal homeless.

That’s Our Story
Now you know a little bit about Worcester Animal Rescue League. Visit us and learn more. Under a new director’s guidance, the shelter is finding and implementing solutions for new problems. The experienced, dedicated staff is ready for the challenges of caring for more animals for longer periods of time in an increasingly productive and enriching environment.