I’m back (and off to No Kill Conference 2012)

Valerie Hayes

Xavier, king of the Maine Coons.

My hiatus from writing is now officially over and I will soon be off to No Kill Conference 2012 in Washington, DC.  This will be my 3rd time attending the conference and it promises to be bigger and better than ever.  The conference organizers have dramatically increased the number of available tickets over last year, and last year seemed so much bigger than the year before, with an almost overwhelming level of positive energy.  There will be over 800 attendees this year, and I expect that the energy level will be off the charts.  Many of the speakers have only been part of the No Kill movement for a few years, some even less than that, but the No Kill movement attracts quick studies with a can-do attitude.

The theme of No Kill Conference 2012 is “Reaching Higher”.  No Kill communities save 90% or more of all  homeless pets–the ones that fall into the “healthy or treatable” category.  Some are expanding the definition of “healthy or treatable” and saving 98-99% of all homeless pets.  Conventional animal control kills 50% of all homeless pets, on average.  Some kill nearly all of them, including those that people are on their way to rescue, and puppies and kittens (reaching lower?).

 I will be blogging from the conference (live-blogging, barring any internet connectivity problems) so that those unable to attend will still be able to learn something from some of the distinguished lineup of speakers.  If you are unable to attend, do check out the conference website, this blog, and follow the twitter hashtag #nokill, which attendees will be using to tweet from the conference.  Conference organizers will be making a wealth of  materials available for free download on the conference website, as they have done in the past, so be on the lookout for that.

This is going to be an exciting and educational weekend, and I look forward to seeing some old friends there, and to meeting some new ones, especially if you are from Georgia or elsewhere in the Southeast.

If you can’t make it to the conference or you are new to the No Kill movement or to this blog, check out the “Best Of” list on the sidebar (especially “I was there”), read Nathan Winograd’s book Redemption, watch the short video “Strayed”, keep up with the movement on Facebook at No Kill Revolution and No Kill Nation  and stay tuned…

The theme of No Kill Conference 2012 is “Reaching Higher”. No Kill communities save 90% or more of all homeless pets–the ones that fall into the “healthy or treatable” category. Some are expanding the definition of “healthy or treatable” and saving 98-99% of all homeless pets.


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