The Oshkosh Area Humane Society (OAHS) does not euthanize animals due to length of stay or space limitations.  OAHS only considers euthanasia in special cases where an animal is suffering from a medical and/or behavioral condition that cannot be treated or managed successfuly and their quality of life is deemed poor, or if the animal would be considered a threat to public health and/or safety if placed in the community.  (You may notice animals euthanized are sometimes in the “healthy” column.  This refers to medical health only and not behavioral.)  

Be aware the term “no kill” has been used by many to refer to the success of a shelter.  However the term can have differing interpretations, even amongst animal welfare professionals.  Per Best Friends, the nationally-known animal sanctuary and animal welfare resource center:  “No-kill, as a philosophical principle, means saving every dog or cat in a shelter who can be saved. But it’s helpful to have a way to clearly measure lifesaving progress as we move forward together, and that’s where the 90% benchmark comes in. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. Therefore, we designate shelters that meet the 90% save-rate benchmark as no-kill.”

 Please keep in mind there is no perfect report to measure the success of a shelter. It is important to know every shelter has its own definition of what is healthy, unhealthy, treatable, manageable and rehabilitatable depending on their policies, resources, medical care options, etc. (Guidelines for Asilomar categories can be found at Asilomar Accords).