Bland clarifies shelter’s ‘urgent placement’ list

The Animal Services Office has a new “Urgent Placement” section on its website that features dogs that face significant barriers to finding homes. A memo from Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland to City Council explains that the list is modeled on KC Pet Project’s list. The Kansas City, Missouri, shelter – which is also no-kill – “found that providing concise, easy-to-digest information was the best method” to find placements for potentially at-risk dogs, according to Bland. “The list’s primary goals are to: 1. Identify the dogs that have significant barriers to adoption and facilitate their placement into appropriate foster or adoptive homes (and) 2. Notify stakeholders of which dogs could potentially be at risk of euthanasia,” wrote Bland, who emphasized that the normal euthanasia process that requires noticing at least 48 hours in advance would be followed, if necessary.