How many shelter dogs are in the us

Connect with a local team of advocates today. No-Kill What does no-kill mean? Breadcrumb No-Kill Ending Breed Discrimination Breed-specific legislation BSL bans or restricts certain types of dogs based on their appearance - usually because they are perceived as dangerous. Stopping Puppy Mills Puppy mills are "factory farms" for dogs. Dogs live in small cages, often only six inches larger than the dog on all sides, and are bred as frequently as possible.

Stopping Puppy Mills More than humane pet sales laws have been enacted, including four states Maine, Maryland, California, Washington that prohibit the sale of animals from breeding mills. Subscribe to HumanePro News today. The Numbers U.

Estimated number of community cats in the U. Levine, and M. Stoskopf, Reproductive capacity of free-roaming domestic cats and kitten survival rate. J Am Vet Med Assoc, He employs a convenience sample of all the states with available shelter data.

However, his dataset includes states and shelters representing almost one third of the human population in the United States totaling New Hampshire euthanized 0. Nevada euthanized 21 times more dogs 5. The Northeast has relatively low dog ownership rates compared to other regions of the country Table 2.

Number of dogs euthanized per people were calculated based per State where official numbers were reported raw data retrieved from [ 26 , 32 , 33 ]. Marsh [ 5 ] suggests that intake is the main driver in a declining euthanasia trend, however, if we look at shelter trends as proportions of intake it becomes clear that adoptions have started to become another main driver in New Jersey in the last decade Figure 6. Shelter dog adoptions and euthanasia as proportions of intake as well as total dog intake, based on data provided by the State of New Jersey.

An analysis of dog shelter intake and euthanasia in California from through indicates great variation in shelter trends from county to county [ 13 ]. Some counties achieve low rates of shelter euthanasia while others are closer to the national average or even higher Figure 8 and Figure 9. The two charts below show the rate of dog intake and euthanasia per people for Fresno and San Diego respectively. Both shelters have experienced a similar slope in decrease of intake and euthanasia per people over the years.

In fact, all the coastal counties in California tend to have low euthanasia rates San Francisco and San Luis Obispo are the lowest at under 2 per while rates in the inland counties are much higher. It is not clear why this difference exists although the coastal counties tend to be wealthier than the inland counties.

Although the quality of the collected data for counties in California varies, we believe that there are enough years of data to discern trends in animal intake and euthanasia Figure 10 Note: the data in Figure 10 is a composite of values developed from trend lines calculated individually for all 58 counties in California from reports on shelter intake and outcomes produced by the California Department of Health and Human Services see [ 15 ], annually since As in other states and across the country, there has been a significant decline in dogs entering shelters per people and in the euthanasia rate Figure Since , every Michigan shelter has to be licensed and has to report their shelter data annually under the Pet Shop, Dog Pounds, and Animal Shelters Act, Figure 11 illustrates the downward trend in intake and euthanasia.

In , Bartlett et al. They found that 5. Since the euthanasia rate has been falling and reached 2. Intake and euthanasia per people living in Michigan raw data retrieved from: [ 26 ].

Lord et al. In general, data from individual states combined with the other data sources employed in this review support the results of national surveys and estimates.

Another factor affecting the decline in intake and euthanasia numbers is the cultural shift in how pet owners relate to their pets. Responsible pet ownership and the perception that dogs are part of the family is a concept that has been growing over the last 30 years.

We argue that this change is one of the indicators that US pet owner relations with their dogs has changed. However, we have to rely entirely on indirect indicators to document the change in human-dog relationship because there are no reliable research reports documenting this change over time e.

One possible time-series dataset that could be employed to support the opening sentence conclusion is the biennial survey by the American Pet Products Association [ 40 ]. In the past decade, there have been significant changes in the source of pet dogs coming into the home [ 40 ] Figure Acquisition of dogs in the United States [ 40 ]. The development of the pet industry also reflects the changing dog-human relationship see Figure The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce [ 41 ] produces monthly, quarterly and annual tables of consumer expenditures.

The graph in Figure 13 shows the relative level of personal expenditures on these two categories compared to total consumer expenditures. The relative amount spent on pets and on veterinary services has increased by 5-fold pet products and 3.

There was no relative increase in expenditures on pets from to but both veterinary expenditures and spending on pet products has been growing faster than general consumer spending since the beginning of the century. These increases are another indirect measure of a growing attachment to pets in the United States.

Expenditures related to dog keeping and veterinary care [ 39 ] Note: the straight lines in the graph are not calculated trend lines but are included to distinguish the different periods of relative expenditure growth. Owning a dog has become a conscious choice rather than incidental and with this shift we see a changing relationship. One of the first indicators is the level of confinement of companion dogs from free roaming to confined and clearly associated with a household.

This happened around the same time that sterilization became part of the basic care. Following this change, dogs moved into homes and became identified as more formal members of the family. One possible indicator of this changing relationship is the proportion of dogs sleeping inside at night. APPA surveys Figure 14 are more specific in that they ask if dog owners allow their dogs to sleep in their beds and not simply inside. Where dog owners keep their dogs at night and where they sleep [ 38 ].

Finally, in , Harris [ 42 ] conducted a poll of pets as family members in US households and has repeated the poll three times since then in , and While programs were devised and implemented in the absence of much data [ 43 , 44 ], the possible effects of interventions may still be tracked.

Pet dog and cat sterilization is widely regarded as one of the major reasons for the decline in shelter intake and euthanasia from onwards, despite the doubling of pet dog and cat populations. We speculate that a combination of factors have markedly decreased shelter intake and euthanasia and these include increased responsible pet ownership behaviors such as sterilization, dog containment, and pet identification.

Increased rates of dog sterilization have been facilitated by differential fees for licensing of sterilized dogs, increased availability of low-cost pet sterilization through municipal and animal welfare agencies, high volume specialty spay-neuter veterinary clinics, and incorporation of sterilization as standard veterinary care by private practitioners. Increased levels of pet identification have occurred through licensing compliance and microchipping.

Changes in dog-human relationships and increased expenditure on dogs are also likely reflecting a growth in responsible ownership behaviors. In addition, increased numbers of dogs adopted from shelters, and a greater proportion of the owned dog population acquired by adoption, appears to be contributing to decreased euthanasia rates since [ 20 ].

Before , the sterilization of pets by veterinary practices was relatively rare. This apparently changed very rapidly in the s. During the s, there was also a substantial decrease in the shelter intake of dogs in Los Angeles and across the country.

An internal and unpublished report by The HSUS looked at shelter intake trends for several hundred shelters in the US during the s and found that a declining intake was associated with differential licensing fees the owners of intact animals had to pay a higher annual dog license fee. Shelter animal intake levelled off in the s but dog intake began to decline again in the late s to mids.

This attitude change toward sterilization in the private veterinary sector and the ongoing expansion of low-cost community sterilization efforts especially in low-income neighborhoods in recent years , may have sustained the declining trend in shelter intake and euthanasia.

There are likely other factors involved in the decline such as more responsible dog ownership, including increased containment and identification of dogs through licensing and microchipping but there have been very few attempts to identify such factors and even fewer attempts to quantify them.

Data shows that, across the US, dog and cat shelter intake continued to decline despite an increasing pet population. Today, shelter animal euthanasia is over 10 fold lower than in the s. While declining intake appears to have been strongly associated with declining euthanasia up until e.

There are still considerable differences between states but the general national trend is clear. The level of control of pet dogs has increased steadily from the s to the present. In summary, campaigns to improve dog owner behavior in the last 40 years have created the changed dynamic we see between humans and dogs.

Shelters can focus on adoptions rather than providing humane euthanasia and dog owners have largely adopted a pet care regime that includes sterilization and licensing, and confinement of pet dogs. This progress from relatively uncontrolled to controlled dog population is something we suspect is a trend which occurring globally even in countries with large street dog populations. This review and the US model itself can therefore potentially provide a template for other countries. There have been a few attempts to compile a scholarly review of all the data e.

The list of pathetic excuses from people who abandon their pets goes on and on. Pets are family, not status symbols or accessories that you can trash whenever you want. When you become the soul care giver for a pet, you are responsible for that pet for its entire life. Not just when you feel like it. Breeders are a huge problem and should be mentioned. Backyard breeders and puppy mills breed for money, not quality.

Breeding millions of puppies, and kittens each year causing severe overpopulation They inbreed and continually breed the same females over and over again.

They spend the absolute least amount of money on basic care and food. Many are kept in tiny cages their entire lives. Terrified of people and with good reason. So, the animals suffer. Some breeds require c-sections to deliver puppies.

Imagine having a c-section every year of your life. Until they no longer can produce and are dumped at the shelter. People that breed pit bulls and labradors are insane and well plain stupid!

Those two breeds make up the bulk of dogs killed in shelters! No matter how sweet they are. Shelters rarely get breeds correct.

They call everything that has a bull dog looking face a pit bull. When none of them look anything like a pit bull. Some call them all pit mixes. In fact most people have no idea what a real pit bull looks like!

I recall a shelter having a purebred mastiff and a purebred Belgian Malinois. The shelter tagged these dogs as pit mix and shepherd mix. Thankfully, for these two dogs I got in touch with breed rescues, and they were saved. But it happens all the time, every day. Someone may search for a mastiff and never see it because its breed was not listed correctly.

Shelters also mark small dogs like Chihuahuas with a sign that says bites! Small dogs that are terrified and scared to death will snip at you. It happens to big dogs as well. Shelter staff for the moat part are clueless and cost more lives due to incompetence that you could ever imagine. A family member just had a female dog have 12 puppies. She claims it was an accident. Two or three of them died. She kept two and the others were given away.

My point is there never should have been twelve pups to start with as the dog should have been spayed. She got a new boyfriend with an unneutered male dog and well her female got with him and hey it was an accident and accidents happen.

I have been preaching spay and neutering to her. I have volunteered for a low cost spay and neuter clinic and I worked for a vet for four years. To be honest I would love to smack her in her mouth for that rude comment.

One of the pups went to a small home with seven people. Seven people who most times are trying to find help for food and help with bills. Not to mention the house is always full of smoke. What animal wants to live in that mess.

This pup did not find a good home and most likely will be surrendered before all is said and done. That is my business. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Altogether, there are around 14, shelters and rescue groups in the US. No-kill shelters attempt to save 9 out of 10 animals.

More than 6 million animals enter animal shelters across the US every year. Dog adoptions soared to 10—13 a day during the Covid pandemic. PETA euthanized 1, animals in There are 3, animal shelters in the US. Too many! No-Kill Animal Shelter Statistics No-kill shelters try to save every animal, heal them, and treat any behavioral issues they may have. No-kill shelters can become overcrowded.