The Coffeyville Friends of Animal (CFA) City Shelter Policy and Mission is to…

The CFA is a non-profit organization working to provide dignified and humane care of the unwanted and unclaimed animals in our service area of Coffeyville Kansas; reduce the number of unwanted and strayed animals through aggressive educational programs; and provide a humane and dignified euthanasia for those not adopted within the time frame of available resources.

CFA believes that…

• all animals have a right to life; this means the right to a decent life, protected from cruelty, abuse, neglect, mutilation and suffering;
• that it is the duty of humans to provide for the welfare of animals.

Our Vision is…

• to rehabilitate and re-home abandoned neglected and unwanted animals;
• to support owners in distress and offer a personal service to owners and animals alike;
• to educate the public, especially children and to eradicate ignorance about animals;
• to facilitate the adoption of animals into caring homes;
• to ensure that every animal has a caring and loving home;
• to actively promote sterilization programs as an animal population control measure; and
• to have every animal identifiable by a tag and as an alternative a microchip.

REHOMING
CFA believes…

• that every animal deserves a loving and caring home and will do everything in its powers to find each and every animal in its care a home;
• that some are here because their owners no longer want them and have asked CFA to find another home for them. Others are cared for at CFA because their owners hurt, mistreated or abandoned them, as treating the animal in an undignified way and/or depriving the animal of adequate shelter, food and water, and not receiving appropriate medical attention;
• that CFA looks after all these animals and makes sure that they are comfortable and well fed. When the animals are strong and healthy, new homes are found for them with people who will give them good homes, upkeep, sterilization, vaccinations, and medical treatment. Even after the adoption and re-homing of a CFA animal, this animal remains the property of CFA and may not be sold or given to another person without the prior consent and approval of CFA City Shelter. Should the person adopting the animal be unable to keep the animal anymore, the animal is to be given back to CFA City Shelter with all the proper documentation.

CFA will…

• carefully screen prospective foster care and animal owners before allowing a placement or adoption to take place;
• question the property owner where the animal is to be homed to ensure that it is adequate for the specific breed;
• not allow any adult animal to be adopted before it has been sterilized and will ensure that all puppies and kittens adopted from CFA City Shelter are sterilized when appropriate age;
• advise the new foster or owners on the feeding and care of the animal;
• pregnant animals: depending on the merits of the situation should a pregnant female animal be adopted or fostered, The animal(s) born from this female will remain the property of CFA City Shelter and will be returned back to CFA City Shelter who will then re-home the animal according to the CFA procedures and sterilize the female when her litter is the age of eight weeks. This will only be done in cases where the female animal's life could be endangered after termination of the pregnancy is considered by a qualified veterinarian.

CFA opposes…

the destruction of healthy animals, but accepts that there may be valid cases where euthanasia is the most humane option. These cases may include terminal diseases, animals that represent a danger to humans and/or other animals, suffering, animals unsuitable for re-homing or animals suffering from behavioral distress and insists that such destruction may only be done by methods which have proved to be painless and must be administered by a qualified trained agent of CFA City Shelter;

CFA is dedicated to…

helping the less advantaged communities care for their animals.

SPECIFIC POLICIES ON: COMPANION ANIMALS
CFA believes that companion animals…

• may only be kept by humans that are totally committed to the welfare of the animals;
• must always have adequate shelter, food, water care and exercise;
• may not be mutilated for any reason other than a medical one and the procedure must then be performed by a veterinarian; and
• that the sterilization of companion animals are vital to the control of the animal population and advocates that this sterilization happens as early as possible unless there are medical reasons to the contrary.

CFA actively promotes…

• a blacklist book of possible dog fighters, speculators, and suppliers. No such person will have the opportunity to adopt or care for a CFA animal and CFA has the right to exchange such information to any other welfare organizations to help protect our animals; and
• the licensing and regulation of breeders to ensure humane breeding and the eradication of ‘backyard breeding' and ‘puppy farms'.