Los Angeles, California - Millions of dogs and cats end up
in animal shelters or rescues every year, but there are no comprehensive
statistics on how many, how they got there, if they were adopted, if a rescue
saved them or if their time ran out and they were euthanized. But a new website
is aiming to remedy the lack of data.
Animal welfare workers talked about creating a database for
years. Now, four years after the work began, "Shelter Animals Count: The
National Database Project" is online.
When enough information is input, "we should have a
sense of how dogs and cats move in and out of these rescues and shelters that
are dedicated to their care," said Jodi Lytle Buckman, board chair for
Shelter Animals Count. Data organization is modeled on the U.S. Census, so
comparisons will be possible at the county level, she said.
Until now, individual agencies have used estimates when
statistics were needed. As a result, figures often varied from group to group
and state to state. Even the precise number of shelters and rescues is not
known.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, often cited by The Associated Press, estimates there are 13,600
shelters across the country taking in 7.6 million companion animals a year. Of
those, 2.7 million are euthanized, 2.7 million are adopted and 649,000 are
returned to their owners (with the other 1.5 million including animals besides
cats and dogs, feral animals and other categories).
For every dog or cat relinquished to a shelter by an owner,
two strays were brought in, according to ASPCA estimates.
Rescues are usually dedicated to saving one breed and can
be operated out of a home, so they are even harder to count than shelters,
which are most often run by counties or cities.
The new database at www.shelteranimalscount.org is
incorporated as an independent non-profit. Two employees will be hired, one to
look at the data and one to recruit shelters and rescues to sign up.
"This database is precisely what the animal welfare
world needs to guide good decision-making and help enable a greater
understanding of the issues facing rescues and shelters in this country,"
Buckman said.
The database is funded entirely through grants from board
members. Board members include: Animal Assistance Foundation; Animal Humane
Society in Minnesota; the ASPCA; Association of Shelter Veterinarians; Best
Friends Animal Society; Humane Society of the Pike's Peak Region; The Humane
Society of the United States; Maddie's Fund; National Animal Care & Control
Association; National Council on Pet Population; Petco Foundation; PetSmart
Charities; Society of Animal Welfare Administrators; University of Florida
College of Veterinary Medicine; University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary
Medicine; and Wisconsin Humane Society.
