Impressive, articulate case for the viability of the No Kill concept that accepts no excuses from traditional animal-control apologists. While those of the dogcatcher mentality (supported to this day by heavy-hitters like HSUS and the ASPCA--and even PETA) continue to kill up to 80% of the animals in their "care," mired in the defeatist attitude that there's no other way to "control" the "problem," Winograd successfully commandeered two No Kill "communities." His paradigm calls for rebuilding from the ground up--get rid of anybody employed at the shelter (including, especially, its manager) who does not believe it's possible to find every animal a home. Work with volunteers, foster care, publicity--reach out to the animal-loving community and prove to them that you mean what you say and practice what you preach, provide spay/neuter, catch-and-release for feral cats (entitled to their habitat like any other wild animal), and low and behold, the excess animal population turns out to be a myth. ( )

Redemption is an indictment of the animal shelter industry in the United States, and a blueprint for creating a No Kill Nation. As shelter director, Winograd helped the Tompkins County (NY) SPCA become the nation's first and only No Kill/Open Admission shelter. The book tells how they did it and how most other shelters in the country are failing miserably. I agree with the premise of the book and I understand Winograd's passion and urgency, but I wish the tone of the book were a little less strident. When he says, for example, that most shelter managers in the country should be fired, the very people who should heed him will stop listening. ( )