Originally aired January 19, 2001

Animals that find their way to the safe haven of a no kill animal shelter are a fortunate minority of the thousands of pets who are lost, abandoned or mistreated each year in Nebraska.

In Auburn, the Hearts United for Animals Shelter makes a "lifelong commitment" to the animals in its care. In addition to placing animals with new owners, Hepers United operates a donor-supported Sanctuary Sweetheart program that cares for animals it cannot place with new owners because of health or behavior problems.

Representatives of the Nebraska Humane Society, though, say no kill shelters can only take in a fraction of the stray, abandoned or mistreated pets. Pets turned away from no kill shelters are likely to end up in conventional animal shelters, which eventually destroy animals that cannot be placed in new homes. Moreover, no kill shelters may foster unrealistic public expectations about animal shelters.

“Statewide’s” Andrea Gallagher visits the Hepers United for Animals shelter and takes a look at the issue.

Reported by Statewide correspondent, Andrea Gallagher.

In the midst of rural southeast Nebraska, there's an acreage with a number of animals. But this is not your ordinary farmstead. Hundreds and hundreds of dogs live in this Auburn sanctuary. It's called "Hepers United for Animals." It's a shelter for abandoned, abused, sick and lost dogs.
[Carol] "We started to help one dog at a time and there's a great demand for it."
Once these animals are admitted, none of them will ever be euthanized. It's called a "no-kill" shelter. These kinds of shelters are increasing on the west coast, but this is the only one in Nebraska.
[Carol] "The trend is catching on that euthanizing just isn't the answer. We need to spay-neuter.
"People move away and leave them. They're abandoned. Those are most of our dogs here. They end up in the pound."
Carol Wheeler started this animal sanctuary back in 1989. When it comes to abused dogs, Carol has seen it all. She talks about a recent canine who later died.
[Carol] "She was beaten in the face with a ball bat and we were able to do enough surgery done for her face just to give her comfort. Three surgeries so that she could breathe and so that her gums were not exposed. Just to give her comfort."
But they don't take in every single dog that comes their way. There's only so much room on this 40-acre farm.
[Carol] "The dogs that we would turn away would be those that we cannot work into the present facilities. And it's based on their compatibility with other animals. As far as illness goes, we have taken some very ill dogs. In fact we take special need dog-needs dogs easily because we're going to give them the care."
Carol and her staff of four take care of these animals round the clock. That means cleaning, feeding, bathing, and exercising. They spend around two to three thousand dollars a month on veterinary care and another three thousand dollars a month on dog food.
[Carol] "They were in some pretty horrible conditions, I can tell you that. And they've been thrilled to have food and water and somebody who loves em."
Jennifer Gilbert lives on the acreage to make sure the dogs are always looked after. She gets upset with some of the owners who abuse their pets, but says there's nothing more rewarding than watching the animals progress.
[Jennifer] "Actually realizing that what they've been through that they hold no animosity towards people. You know, they have horrendous stories. And they hold no animosity towards us."
Many of these dogs are sponsored by someone in another part of the country. Thousands of people log onto the shelter's web site where they can find out about the animals and donate money. Carol says many people come from miles away to adopt a dog from her shelter.
[Carol] "Our visitors are from all over the United States. They fly in. They drive in. We may have three or four different groups of people on a weekend. I think people are tremendously impressed when they see the web site and see all the dogs."
A number of volunteers come out to the sanctuary to help Carol and her staff with the heavy workload. And you can bet on one thing-they're crazy about canines.
[Carol] "I have nine of my own. The smallest is seven pounds. The biggest is a 150. They're all in the house. They all get along with us and themselves. They form a good family and I also add in foster dogs from Hepers United. Right now I am taking care of 16 dogs altogether in the house."
But Carol is definitely the biggest dog fanatic of them all. Looking through the front windows of her home, all you can see is dogs barking and tails wagging. Out back, even more dogs. Carol keeps the unadoptible dogs for herself and gives them lots of love.
[Carol] "Love will change a dog. Because they are so loving."
And she knows the names of every single one of these dogs. If you don't believe it, just ask her.
[Carol] "Sometimes like a mother with too many children, I've got to go through a few lists, until I hit the right one. But I didn't forget."
Carol never takes vacation. It's almost impossible with the number of dogs she cares for. But she says she never finds herself regretting her career choice.
[Carol] "It's a difficult thing to do. A no-kill shelter is difficult. But then a kill shelter would be far more difficult."
Over at the state's largest humane society in Omaha, there is certainly no shortage of animals looking for homes. Around 20 thousand animals find their way to the Nebraska Humane Society every year. Executive Director Judy Varner says no-kill shelters aren't all they're cracked up to be. She says the Humane Society does not have the option of turning animals away like no-kill shelters do.
[Carol] "When I hear no-kill shelters, I hear limited entry shelters. The pet of a population is uniquely American. It's a tragedy. It's certainly not the fault of us or any of the shelters in town. It's the fault of people making poor decisions. So to me, no-kill means limited entry."
The shelter recently moved into this new multi-million dollar facility to make room for more pets. She says if they didn't euthanize animals, they wouldn't have room for all the unwanted animals they receive.
[Jennifer] "Within the first two days of opening, we probably had six hundred. If we were a shelter that did not euthanize animals, we would have filled our building in the first two days of being open."
The Nebraska Humane Society has more than 150 volunteers who tend to the animals every day.
[Jennifer] "Every worker here, every volunteer is passionate about animals and I volunteered for six years and every time I come here, I see evidence of that. So it makes me grateful to have this as a place to come to."
Before she got into this business, Judy says she never liked the feeling she got when visiting animal shelters. She wanted this one to be different.
[Judy] "When we built this shelter, that's what I kept thinking about over and over again was my fear of animal shelters before I got into this movement. And I didn't want that. I wanted a shelter people would come in and feel good about. That they'd want to be here. And I think we've achieved that."
There's even a veterinary clinic located inside the shelter so they can spay, neuter, and care for the animals all under one roof. Judy says it's not a quick decision when they put animals to sleep.
[Judy] "Our trainer has to consider the animals. Our medical staff has to consider the animals. We have steps they have to go through before they have the right to euthanize an adoptable animal. We really want to think about it hard."
She says all shelters need to work together to educate the public about spaying and neutering and making the right decision about adopting a pet.
[Judy] "The issue of unwanted animals is American. People see Eddy on "Frazier," they go to a "A 101 Dalmations." They see Beethoven and that's what they want. And they don't appreciate the hours and hours of training that go into that."
The number of cats and dogs in this country far outweigh the number of humans. Judy hopes someday she will see these numbers go down significantly.
[Judy] "It's estimated that in the United States there are seven dogs and cats born for every person. So unless everyone out there owns seven pets, we're behind the eight-ball."
Meanwhile, Carol Wheeler and her staff maintain their mission of being a no-kill shelter. It's hard work and they end up putting a lot of their own money into the shelter. Donations only take them so far. It's a cause they say is well worth the effort.
[Carol] "Words cannot express how holding that warm fuzzy body makes you feel. And they just look at you with pure devotion.
"If you can't love a dog, I just don't understand that. And they are just you the most precious things."
Two very different shelters, but with one main goal. Finding a good home for pets.
Reporting for Statewide, I'm Andrea Gallagher.