Animal Shelter Statistics For Select States

There is a great deal of evidence that spay and neuter programs within shelters have the potential to create significant change in local communities. This study takes a look at a broader scope - examining the results of mobile spay and neuter projects across 46 communities in Montana.

April 29, 2015

This annual report from the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies compiles 2013 statistics from Humane Societies and SPCA shelters across Canada. The paper provides numbers going back to 2007 to give a sense of the recent trends, and finds some reason for optimism: the situation for shelter animals seems to be improving gradually. For cats in particular, who make up the majority of shelter animals in Canada, adoption rates are increasing while euthanasia rates are decreasing, and maintaining a gradual decrease year over year.

December 24, 2014

Many shelters consider food aggression (FA+) a dangerous behavior and will either adopt such dogs out with restrictive conditions, or consider them not appropriate for adoption and euthanize them. A 2013 study from Boston asks us to rethink conventional wisdom. In a sample of 97 dogs studied three months after adoption, researchers found that only 55% of dogs who were food aggressive (FA+) in the shelter displayed similar behavior at home. Of the dogs that were FA+ after adoption, almost all (93%) of them displayed the behavior rarely and only 18% displayed more aggressive behavior such as lunges or bites.

November 29, 2014