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Nevada Animal Shelters Work Toward a 'No-Kill' Future

Nobody likes the idea of hundreds of unwanted pets being euthanized in public animal shelters each year. But pet overpopulation is a problem, and the solution has evaded metropolitan animal control agencies for years.

Recently, though, municipal shelters in Henderson, St. George, Utah, and other nearby towns have achieved what’s called “no-kill” status, meaning they put down a minimal number of animals.

How did they get there, and is a similar approach possible for larger metropolitan areas?

Danielle Harney, acting administrator, Henderson Animal Care and Control;  Bryce Henderson, cofounder, Go Vegas Dog;  April Jewell, manager, St. George Animal Services

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Desert Companion welcomed Heidi Kyser as staff writer in January 2014. In 2018, she was promoted to senior writer and producer, working for both DC and KNPR's State of Nevada. She produced KNPR’s first podcast, the Edward R. Murrow Regional Award-winning Native Nevada, in 2020. The following year, she returned her focus full-time to Desert Companion, becoming Deputy Editor, which meant she was next in line to take over when longtime editor Andrew Kiraly left in July 2022. In 2024, Interim CEO Favian Perez promoted Heidi to managing editor, charged with integrating the Desert Companion and State of Nevada newsroom operations.