Mission

To create a humane culture for companion animals by partnering with people to promote animal wellness, by providing access to affordable care, adoptions, surrenders, and striving to be progressive, responsible leaders in the animal welfare community.

Values Statement

Embrace integrity, compassion, and transparency in all aspects of our mission and vision.

Crossroads Animal Shelter Intake Policy

Crossroads Animal Shelter (“Crossroads”) is a 501, c.3 Limited Admission Shelter Facility.  Crossroads utilizes managed intake that is determined by our available space, staffing and resources available. All intake is done by appointment only.

Why Managed Intake?

Managed intake ensures that as an organization, we can provide the necessary standard of care to a companion animal as it arrives in our facility. Through this approach, Crossroads is better able to dedicate our limited resources to those most in need.

Prior to managed intake, Crossroads operated at, or above capacity in terms of space and staffing availability. This greatly compromised our ability to provide a full range of services to optimize animal care and meet the needs of the public.

With managed intake, companion animals receive better care and people receive more attentive service. Managed intake is a thoughtful and intentional operating philosophy which helps us create   the best outcomes for companion animals while valuing the human-animal bond.

Services Within Managed Intake

Crossroads depends on the kindness and generosity of the communities we serve and we are grateful for your continued support. Crossroads will continue to refine and adjust our services and practices as circumstances warrant.

  • Impound Services: Crossroads does not provide impound services. Please contact your local government or law enforcement authority for assistance.
  • Stray: To learn more about the Crossroads’ stray animal policy click here
  • Surrender: If you are looking to surrender your companion animal click here

Crossroads Animal Shelter Position on Euthanasia

Crossroads does not euthanize companion animals for reasons of age, space constraints, or an animal’s length of time in shelter.

Placement Rate

Placement rate is an indication of the number of companion animals leaving a facility by means other than euthanasia or in‐shelter death. Live outcomes are usually achieved through adoption, reclaim by owner, transfer to another agency or other life‐saving actions. Crossroads’ expresses our placement rate by a percentage calculated on total placements divided by total intakes subtracting out owner requested euthanasia services.

  • 2022: 96.4%
  • 2021: 94.7%
  • 2020: 94.2%
  • 2019: 96.2%
  • 2018: 93.6%

Is Crossroads Animal Shelter a “No Kill” Shelter?

“No kill” does not mean no euthanasia. As an organization, we choose not to embrace this terminology as it’s frequently misunderstood and negatively applied to the work that is done in the animal welfare community. Many who use the term, “no kill”, are unaware of its varying definitions and therefore, often use the term incorrectly.

The benchmark for a sheltering organization who operates as “no kill”, is a 90% placement rate. This means that up to 10% of its animals may be euthanized and the agency can still brand themselves, “no kill”. The reality is, the term, “no-kill” has multiple definitions which can include:

  • No euthanasia
  • Euthanasia only for companion animals deemed untreatable
  • Euthanasia for up to 10% of companion animals in shelter

Because the term “no kill” lacks a consistent definition, animal shelters bear the weight and (negative) impact of this terminology. With no governing body to oversee the use of the term “no kill”, confusion and division among people who love and support companion animals often prevails. We believe, branding ourselves as a “no kill” shelter, places more emphasis on meeting a (euthanasia) metric then working toward our mission of providing compassionate care for pets and the people that love them.

There are many factors that affect a companion animal’s quality of life, and if we can’t relieve suffering, we won’t let the pressure of adhering to a certain percentage or metric tied to the “no kill” brand, force us to prolong pain.  The guiding principle in providing humane care should always be the unique and individual needs of the companion animal, regardless of where an organization stands in the their definition of “no-kill.”

Ultimately, it is the practice of Crossroads to evaluate each companion animal that comes through our doors on their individual needs and our access to resources that fulfill those needs – all while providing high quality care.  Put simply, the needs of companion animals come above all else, terminology and arbitrary numbers aside.

Crossroads is proud of our dedicated team of talented and compassionate animal care technicians, veterinary staff, adoption specialists, volunteers, and rescue partners. The work we do each day is often challenging and we are committed to making informed decisions to provide the best possible care for companion animals based on their individual needs and quality of life.