Junior aims for change with PetsAlive club on campus

By Yrenly Yuan,

            Junior TJ McMorrow remembers when his family first adopted their dog Trixie from the Yolo County Animal Shelter. “We have all loved Trixie from the beginning,” TJ said. “We got a sweet furry friend, and she really has changed our lives.”

Now, TJ hopes to spread his experience with adoption to others with PetsAlive, a service club at Davis High. One of TJ’s passions is advocating change for the shelter, which is the reason he and his sister, sophomore Kelsey McMorrow, decided to found the club.

PetsAlive is a service group on campus dedicated to the efforts of reforming the Yolo County Animal Shelter in order to save more lives.

TJ’s goal for PetsAlive is to fundraise and advocate for the Yolo County Animal Shelter, helping to turn the pound into one that has a 90+ percent live release rate. If this policy were to be implemented at the Yolo County Animal Shelter, then 90 percent of the animals entering the shelter would leave it on a leash or in a cage carrier. This would also mean that the use of euthanasia would be limited to the 10 percent of terminally ill or unadoptable animals.

“In order for our club and the other clubs in Yolo County to succeed, we need to increase spay and neuter programs, fundraise for the shelter and get more animals adopted,” TJ said.

To TJ, saving the lives of animals at the shelter is very personal. His family has adopted four animals from the shelter, with two of their dogs having minor medical issues that may have gotten them killed at the pound.

“I really am glad that we adopted our animals from the shelter. We added members to our family and we also potentially saved their lives,” TJ said, while petting Trixie.

There are various groups in the Yolo County that inspired TJ and Kelsey McMorrow to start PetsAlive. These organizations include the Yolo Coalition, FixYolo and YC Paws.

“I heard about them mostly through my mom, and I decided that I wanted to help out at DHS as well,” Kelsey said.

These live release shelters have been growing in numbers, as many cities in the US have passed a so-called “no-kill” law.

“More than 60 communities in the US are already saving at least 90 percent of the animals at their shelters. There’s plenty of hope; we just need the will,” said Julie Sontag, co-founder of the Yolo Coalition for Animal Shelter Reform.

According to a 2011 UC Davis Graduate School of Management report, approximately 50 percent of the animals that enter the shelter are euthanized, for reasons other than owner request. The goal of PetsAlive would be to make that number less than 10 percent.

“The main goal right now of PetsAlive is to get involved and try to bring reform so that we can save more lives,” TJ said. “I want to help these animals out and keep more alive. There’s that warm feeling you get when you’re helping out and knowing that you’re helping with a good cause,”

TJ also says that from his point of view, the shelter is depressing, as you know it’s a possibility that the animals you see may never leave there alive.

“I wanted to join because I don’t think any creature has the right to be killed, especially if there is something that can be done to help prevent it,” said sophomore Annie Leck, a member of PetsAlive.

PetsAlive meets every other Thursday during lunch in L-23 in Mr. Williams’s room.