‘Remarkable’: Cedar City animal shelter celebrates no-kill status

Written by Alysha Lundgren
October 11, 2023

CEDAR CITY — The Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter’s small lobby echoed with cheery chatter and laughter, filled with people gathering to celebrate a hard-won achievement — no-kill status.

The Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter receives recognition for its no-kill status, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle stopped by the shelter on Oct. 4 to present its staff with a plaque commemorating the accomplishment.

“(Cedar City is) such a great community and so deserving of this honor because this community was built on grit, and that’s what it takes for a shelter to get beyond 90%,” she said. “And when I think about your staff and everything that you’re doing, it is an incredibly tough job — It is an incredibly tough job that’s so rewarding.”

A shelter reaches no-kill status when it saves over 90% of the animals in their care instead of euthanizing them. When Best Friends was founded, Castle said there were no such facilities.

“17 million animals were dying — 17 million,” she said. “That number is now 385,000. We can do this; we can get to no-kill 2025.”

“No-Kill 2025” is a movement heralded by Best Friends to help every shelter and community in the U.S. achieve no-kill status by 2025.

A kitten looks up at the Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

Approximately 57% of shelters nationwide now hold that status. 47 of 60 Utah shelters, including 100% of those in Iron and Washington counties — approximately 78% — are no-kill, with one shelter not reporting data, Best Friends’ website states.  The Cedar City shelter has a reported 90.95% save rate.

“These animals don’t deserve to lose their life for being born outside or not being friendly,” Shelter Manager Brittany McCabe said. “They’re — it’s still a life.”

Holding a kitten named Norman after the event, Castle shared an experience with the shelter at its old location.

“Norman is really representative of an animal that probably wouldn’t have made it at a shelter like the one in Cedar City ten years ago, and so much progress has been made over the last five years,” she said. “The shelter in Cedar City has really hit a huge benchmark. … When I was in college, and I came to the shelter, which was then in Enoch, and I showed up, and walked in, and there were a bunch of empty cages.”

Best Friends CEO Julie Castle holds Norman at the Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

“And there was a guy at the front desk in a cowboy hat, and his feet were on the table, and I said to him, ‘Hey, where are all the animals?’ He said, ‘Well, I took care of them earlier this morning,” Castle continued, voice breaking.

She took a break before starting over, explaining that the animals had been euthanized in barrels using his truck’s exhaust fumes, but two kittens remained.

“And I scooped up these two little kittens that were really similar to this guy, Norman — who was — they looked like little brillo pads, and they became my companions for years,” she recalled. “And I think about how far this community has come from the time that I went to that shelter, which was, literally, a corrugated trailer, and to see what the team has done here now is just really remarkable.”

Cedar City Police Chief Darin Adams thanked the shelter’s “remarkable” staff, Sgt. Justin Ludlow and other officers who’ve worked with the shelter.

The Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter receives recognition for its no-kill status and staff poses for a photo with representatives of the Cedar City Police Department and Best Friends CEO Julie Castle, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

“(They) really make us who we are and the shelter what it is … This is a big deal, and we so appreciate that and the public appreciates that,” he said.

McCabe said working with Best Friends has changed everything.

“I have someone to go to when I don’t know what to do or where to go or how to do this,” she said. “Before, I didn’t have that; it was kind of a guessing game. I tried to reach out to other shelters — they didn’t know either. But our whole world changed when we became partners and had that support.”

Others present included Best Friends leadership and staff members, Cedar City Mayor Garth Green, City Manager Paul Bittmenn, City Council members Terri Hartley, R. Scott Phillips and Tyler Melling, and members of the Cedar City Police Department.

“We’re grateful for the support we’re getting from the community,” McCabe said.

The current shelter

An injured kitten observes visitors to the Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

McCabe told Cedar City News that things have improved since last year due to Cedar City’s community cat program and the addition of two new staff members.

“We have a good group,” she said. “We all get along and work well together.”

However, the shelter cannot currently take surrenders as many of the dogs have become long-term residents as they wait for adoption, McCabe said.

“That’s where we’re having a hard time,” she said. “We can’t help people who really need help surrendering because we have so many people dumping, and our dogs are just not moving.”

The shelter often cares for feral or abandoned kittens, and such work is often unseen by the public, McCabe said. For instance, three kittens were recently medically isolated as they were treated for upper respiratory infections, with two at risk of losing an eye.

“These are the kind of things that we’ve reached out to Best Friends for that they’ve been able to help with,” she said.

A kitten meows for attention, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

McCabe largely credits the community cat program for helping the shelter reach no-kill status.

“It was a lot of begging people not to bring us feral cats,” she said. “And just telling them that the (program) is taking a little bit of time — not to give up.”

Community cats are feral or free-roaming felines without visible identification or microchips. They’ve been sterilized, vaccinated and ear-tipped — the top portion of one ear was removed to indicate they’ve been spayed or neutered.

The cats are transported to Kanab to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary or taken to partner veterinarians to be spayed and neutered. While it’s a slow process, the shelter is caught up with the work up to September, McCabe said.

Those caring for community cats are added to a spreadsheet, and the animals are sterilized as soon as the shelter can manage, McCabe said.

A blue-eyed dog presses its face against the bars at the Cedar City Animal Adoption Shelter, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 4, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City news

In the meantime, the shelter can provide cat food and other supplies. She encourages caretakers to contact them to be added to a list for trap and release. And the shelter is seeking volunteers willing to learn how to trap and transport feral cats to Kanab.

“They’re more than happy to train new people,” she said.

Additionally, Southern Utahns can volunteer, donate money or spend time with the animals, McCabe said. Playing with and walking shelter dogs can help to prevent kennel aggression, which can occur with long-term stays.

“Or if there was a trainer that wanted to donate time to work with some of our jumpier dogs — I mean all our dogs are great, but they don’t all have the best manners, and things like that could help.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alysha Lundgren joined the St. George News team in 2022. She began her career as a freelancer, writing resource articles for families of children with disabilities. She's also covered topics such as astronomy, recreation and nature. Originally from Nevada, Alysha fell in love with Utah quickly after moving to Cedar City. In her free time, she enjoys wandering and photographing Utah's gorgeous landscapes or hunkering down in a blanket to play video games or read a good book.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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