Irreconcilable Differences: The Battle for the Heart & Soul of America's Animal Shelters

by Nathan J. Winograd

The battle lines have been drawn: No Kill advocates on one side. Those who kill sheltered animals on the other. Can't we all just get along? Irreconcilable Differences says we can't because shelters act in ways which are the antithesis of the values most Americans hold dear. We are a nation of animal lovers. But the shelters we expect to save animals are instead needlessly killing about four million of them every year. Thankfully, animal lovers all over the U.S. are increasingly rejecting the excuses and blame shifting of shelter administrators used to justify that killing. And it is that rejection of the status quo, propelled by the American public's great love of companion animals, which is explored in this book's essays.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Dogs

210 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2009

About the author

Nathan J. Winograd is a graduate of Stanford Law School, a former criminal prosecutor and corporate attorney, has spoken nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, has written animal protection legislation at the state and national level, has created successful No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities, and has consulted with a wide range of animal protection groups including some of the largest and best known in the nation.

His work has been featured widely in such publications as Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, and newspapers from all over the country. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, and other radio and television affiliates around the country. His creation of the country’s first No Kill community was named one of the Top 100 achievements in the nation by Metropolitan Home in its “Best of the Best” issue. And The Bark magazine calls him “the voice of America’s displaced pets and the conscience of the animal sheltering industry.”

His book, Redemption, is the most critically acclaimed book on the topic in the United States and the winner of five national book awards. Winner of USA Book News Award for Best Book (Animals/Pets), a Best Book Muse Medallion winner by the Cat Writers Association of America, an Award of Excellence and Best Book nominee by the Dog Writers Association of America, winner of a Silver Medal from the Independent Publishers Association, and runner-up for the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Publishing, the book shatters the notion that killing animals in U.S. shelters is an act of kindness. He is also the author of Irreconcilable Differences, a collection of essays that follows up where Redemption left off and asks – and answers – the question of whether we can do better as a society when it comes to our stewardship of companion animals.

As a nationally recognized speaker, Nathan has also spoken at national animal welfare conferences from coast to coast. He has spoken internationally as well, as a guest of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and has been invited to speak as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. He has also lectured on animal sheltering ethics to students at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the nation’s number one ranked veterinary school, and has lectured at the U.C.L.A. School of Law on animal law issues.

In various leadership positions, including Director of Operations, for the San Francisco SPCA, Nathan was instrumental in advancing some of the most progressive shelter programs in the nation, and helped push the lifesaving rate to over three times the national average for an urban community and at the time, the best in the nation. As Executive Director for the Tompkins County (NY) SPCA, he managed the full range of animal control and adoption services in a rural community, including construction of a new Pet Adoption Center achieving unprecedented results. Nathan is currently the Executive Director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center.

Reviews

[Heather Lynn Powderly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was actually quite disgusted by this book. Winograd is amazing at pinpointing obvious animal welfare policy flaws and shelter issues, but fails to provide any substantial framework for improvement. At the same time, he manages to demonize shelter workers for not standing up against legislation or taking matters into their own hands to prevent unnecessary shelter killings.

[Barbara Berendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling fact-based account of the sorry state of companion animals along with an evidenced based plan for changing shelters so that they do what they were originally conceived for, to shelter, not kill, their animals, for a win-win outcome between humans who generally love them and animals who desperately need rescue. The book also recognizes old school thinking and the need to reeducate those who cling to past practices. Trying to help these old school individuals who advocate killing, by asking them to refocus and remember that their clients are the animals, not humans who want to dispose of animals when they are no longer convenient; and their goal should be to shelter and rehome, not kill the animals. Listing the many proven ways and documenting success in programs in which money spent rounding up and euthanizing animals can be and has been successfully redirected to a) underwrite free and low cost spay neuter to control animal overpopulation; b) fund partnerships between shelters to help take overflow from larger groups, c) to regulate shelters and hold them to best practices so that they treat animals with compassion as opposed to killing them so there is less work to do in feeding, caring for them and adopting them out. And d) advocating for the companion animal protection act (CAPA) which mandates that shelters must give animals on kill lists to any other licensed shelter offering to take them and provide for them.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content is very interesting...Low stars is for the format- a series of essays that can tend to get repetitive.

It's an informative look at animal control, animal care and animal welfare movement in the US with scathing criticism of methods employed at many shelters. As an active volunteer at a rescue/sanctuary, his views reaffirmed my commitment to my organization.

Will open eyes of many people who blindly give to many animal welfare organizations without researching the reality of their practices.

[Jacki Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a compassionate person who cares about homeless animals and the needless slaughter of them in our "shelters" and animal control facilities, then read this book.

Only by ACTION will this change.

Make it change. Take action.

[Pamela Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have dogs in the military helping the troops, dogs working with the police helping to catch criminals, dogs who sniff out drugs and explosives, comfort dogs, search and rescue dogs, dogs who help the blind or disabled, seizure alert dogs, animals that work on farms, and millions of pets that share our lives and homes; and yet we have shelters that would rather kill them “put them to sleep” or “put them down” for a nicer sanitized way of saying it, than to take the effort to get them into homes by way of adoption, foster care or cat and dog rescues. You might be thinking that that’s a little extreme, but the truth is that everyday, organizations and shelters, which should be helping animals, find new homes, are instead taking the lives of healthy, reclaimable, and treatable dogs, cats, puppies and kittens, and then blaming it on lack of space and the public in general.

When I grew up, I kind of knew in the back of my mind that “the pound” was a scary place and some dogs didn’t find homes—but after reading Nathan’s book, the blinders are off, and I can no longer be in denial. It is so much worse. I still remember the first time I heard that there was a 3 day limit on lost dogs in my community before they were killed. I didn’t want to believe it, because it sometimes takes the owners longer than that to find out where they are, and many shelters are closed on weekends. We left our name and number with a county shelter to let us know before the deadline if they had any of our favorite breed on death row so that we could network and find them a home. In the last two years we met someone from a local rescue who let us foster care dogs, and it is so rewarding for them and us. There is no one answer to this systematic failure of organizations, counties, cities, and states that collect our money and donations and then turn around and kill the animals they are supposed to be protecting: but there is one question, “What can I do to help my community embrace no kill?” If you love your pets please read this 5 star book, and tell others to read it too.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alot of material from his previous book, but still worth reading if you are interested in the concept of no-kill shelters.