Big lifesaving on the Big Island

BEST FRIENDS EMBEDS STAFF IN HAWAII

Hawaii is a tropical paradise and vacationing there is on the “bucket list” of many people. But it’s not paradise for all dogs and cats — yet. As recently as 2020, Hawaii had the lowest save rate for dogs and cats of any state in the nation.

With our goal to make every state in the country no-kill by 2025, we’ve been reaching out to shelter leaders there to offer assistance. When a new organization called Hawaii Rainbow Rangers took over animal control and sheltering responsibilities for the Big Island, the staff were eager for Best Friends’ help in taking the island’s save rate from less than 50% to at least 90%, the benchmark for no-kill.

Could we help? You bet. In fact, one of the newest Best Friends embed programs is now happening on the Big Island. Two Best Friends staff are embedded at Hawaii Rainbow Rangers — working alongside staff as the director of animal control and shelter operations and the manager of operations. But that’s only the beginning.

Another Best Friends staff person spent two months there to help establish a community cat program, and others have been deployed to train shelter staff on safe animal handling. We’re implementing key lifesaving strategies — like resolving nuisance complaints and returning healthy community cats to the locations where they were found after they’ve been spayed or neutered and vaccinated. We’re also giving the facilities a refresh to make them safer and healthier for the animals.

All the resources poured into the shelter have already paid off. In fact, the island’s save rate climbed to 90% or above for the months of October 2020 to February 2021. In that time period, the new programs reduced the number of dogs and cats killed by more than 1,700 compared to that same time period a year before. And that’s 1,700 reasons to celebrate.

In some ways, each embed effort that Best Friends undertakes is similar. They’re all focused on communities with the most lifesaving needs. And we help establish similar programs with each embed, because they work. But there are unique nuances in each situation, too. In Hawaii, for example, the organization that held the sheltering and animal control contract for years, Hawaiian Island Humane Society, exited as the contract holder so they could do more on the lifesaving side of things. The humane society, which is Hawaii Rainbow Rangers’ most key partner, is still at work on the island, focusing on adoptions, foster care and low-cost veterinary care programs. These important programs are part of the collaboration that’s having a big impact on lifesaving on the island.

Now that Hawaiian Island Humane Society is no longer responsible for animal control or the high volume of animals coming to the shelter every day, the Big Island is approaching no-kill for the first time ever. And to that we say aloha to a much brighter future for dogs and cats in what is fast becoming paradise for more of them.

Read more about Best Friends embed programs in our feature story on pages 18-21.

The island’s save rate climbed to 90% or above for the months of October 2020 to February 2021.