According to SPCA, there are over three million dogs that enter the the U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year, and every year there are nearly 400,000 dogs euthanized. However, when animals get adopted or they are found to belong to someone and the owner and pup are reunited – that can bring the numbers down by 2 million for adoptions and over 700,000 pups who are reunited with their owners.
That certainly brings the number down, and I’m sure it’s no easy task. I’m sure the employees or volunteers work around the clock to make this happen – and at times for free.
Back in 2021, 114,420 pups along with cats entered Virginia, and of them 98,704 were saved. This brings us to a tad bit more than 80%. Around the same time, 63.6% of state shelters estimated they were over the 90% benchmark. Those that were underneath are expected to save an additional 5,000+ animals that were healthy or at least treatable.
When compared to 2020 over 113,000 pups and cats entered Virginia shelters and over 95,000 were saved, giving a total of 84.84% of animals saved. Around that time, 60.26% of state shelters were estimated above the 90% benchmark. Those that were below it expected to save almost 7,000 additional animals that were treatable or in good health.
In America alone, it’s estimated that there are around 78 million dogs owned, and around 44% of all households in the U.S. have a pup. Of those owners, around 23% of dogs are obtained from an animal shelter, and 34% are purchased from breeders. That’s a lot of dogs for sure, but there are tons more to go around in these shelters. So, if you find yourself feeling lonely at times – consider adopting from your local shelter to help the situation.
The info showed that broadly without precedent for five years, U.S. cover frameworks are seeing a setback in lifesaving. In 2021, the number of pups and cats killed due to reasons other than extreme clinical or social issues couldn’t be rehabilitated in U.S. shelters expanded from 347,000 to 355,000 and was particularly obvious when contrasted with emotional lifesaving endeavors seen all through this last year.
In 2021, 114,420 dogs and cats entered Virginia shelters and 98,704 were saved, giving the state an aggregate save rate of 86.3%. In the same year, 63.6% of state shelters measured above the 90% benchmark.https://t.co/WQnGfo2YDg pic.twitter.com/1WvUgKyImp
— The Roanoke Star (@RoanokeStarNews) June 13, 2022
“The responsibility of saving pets’ lives should not rest solely on shelters and those in animal welfare, but on entire communities including community members, government leaders, shelters and other animal welfare groups,” said Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. “Through collaboration and community involvement, this model provides better support for pet owners, efficiency in shelters, and more lifesaving outcomes for pets.? When a community supports its shelter’s critical needs, we see dramatic results.”
People can assist with saving lives by deciding to adopt from a shelter or rescue group, fix their pets to avoid accidental pups that end up homeless or in one way or another ultimately end up in the shelters. They can also foster, donate, and volunteer.
During the last six years, Best Friends has led a unique broad information assortment process that elaborated coordinated effort to each shelter in America followed by additional research, data analysis, and tech development. The dataset is the most thorough on U.S. sheltered animals, and depends on info gathered right from the source – shelters. Along with other information from government websites, local coalitions, and others – and from this information gathered, 94% of animal admissions in the U.S. shelters are known, while only 6% is estimated.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News