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Dog Euthanasia Pulse-Check Results
21Jun’23
Dog Euthanasia Pulse-Check Survey Results
Shelter Animals Count (SAC), the most trusted and current source for animal sheltering data, spotlighted a trend in dog euthanasia from the newly-released Intake and Outcome Data Analysis report for Q1 2023. Full report PDF here.
Since data alone only tells part of the story, SAC also surveyed animal shelters for a “pulse check” to gain a deeper understanding of what shelters are facing and how their communities can help.
Respondent Distribution
A total 389 respondents completed the pulse survey. Respondents were pretty evenly distributed among organization types. Respondents skewed more towards suburban serving areas, followed by rural and then urban.
NOTE: Urban serving organizations are fairly evenly distributed among the organization types, with Government animal Services and Rescues without a government contract making up the majority (55%). Rural organizations skew to being rescues and shelters without a government contract (59%).
Euthanasia Changes by Location Type
Organizations identifying as serving an Urban area are more likely to see increased euthanasia while organizations identifying as serving rural and suburban areas are more likely to see euthanasia staying the same.
Euthanasia Quantity | Rural | Suburban | Urban. | Grand Total |
Decreased | 11.9% | 10.1% | 8.3% | 10.3% |
Increased | 38.5% | 38.0% | 58.3% | 43.2% |
Stayed the same | 49.6% | 51.9% | 33.3% | 46.5% |
Grand Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Euthanasia Changes by Location Type
Government Animal Services and Shelters/Rescues with a government contract were more likely to indicate that euthanasia numbers have increased. Rescues and Shelters without a government contract are more likely to indicate that Euth numbers have remained the same.
Euthanasia Quantity | Government Animal Services | Rescue without government contract | Shelter without government contract | Shelter/Rescue with government contract | Grand Total |
Decreased | 9% | 5% | 16% | 13% | 10% |
Increased | 69% | 25% | 29% | 61% | 43% |
Stayed the same | 22% | 70% | 55% | 27% | 47% |
Grand Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Factors Impacting Euthanasia Decisions
Dog Euthanasia Increases
For organizations that have noted increases in euthanasia numbers, dog behavior was most cited across all organization types and all areas served. Not enough adopters/applications was the second most cited across all organization types and areas served. Urban organizations cited Capacity and lack of space more frequently than rural/suburban organizations.
“We cannot help the animals in our care if we are over-burdened. We need the community to be a part of our team to get animals adopted in the community, rather than coming to the shelter. We have to euthanize marginal dogs because we don’t have the bandwidth to give them what they need. We have to choose between helping the dogs who are struggling a little and those who are struggling a lot.”
(Euthanasia: Increase, Org Type: Government Animal Services, Area: Urban)
“Most of the dogs we received were picked up as strays with no identification. We are not sure if people are simply turning them loose but even with advertising them no one is coming to reclaim them. The dogs that are being surrendered to the shelter are simply not wanted anymore, no matter what we offer to help keep the animal at home the owner simply doesn’t want them.”
(Euthanasia: Increase, Org Type: Government Animal Services, Area: Rural)
“Our adoptions are still about the same pace as last year but the volume of requests for owner surrenders has jumped way up. We are seeing an increase in the number of dogs presented to us as stray that are more likely to be owned by the ‘finder’.”
(Euthanasia: Increase, Org Type: Shelter/Rescue with Government Contract, Area: Suburban)
“We’re putting down good dogs. There is no way else to say it. Dogs have mental expiration dates in the shelter and we have limited space. Perfectly adoptable dogs are losing their lives and it is a crisis. We need volunteers, fosters, and adopters.”
(Euthanasia: Increase, Org Type: Government Animal Services, Area: Urban)
“The dogs entering our care are becoming more and more challenging and many have significant behavior issues. Our kennel and staff are not set up to deal with these issues and increasing length of stay is only bringing out more severe issues.”
(Euthanasia: Increase, Org Type: Shelter without Government Contract, Area: Rural)
Dog Euthanasia Decreases/No Changes
Factors that impact euthanasia decisions for organizations that noted euthanasia numbers are decreasing or staying the same are primarily for severe behavior or medical issues. However, even these organizations noted higher lengths of stay and more challenging behavior issues in dogs coming into their care.
“It is multiple factors; reduced adoptions lead to increased length of stay, which would lead to increased difficulty in maintaining mental health of dogs. If we can get some relief for these animals via temporary fosters, sleepovers, field trips, etc., we will increase the chance of animals maintaining their physical, mental and behavioral health long enough to avoid difficult outcomes.”
(Euthanasia: No change, Org Type: Government Animal Services, Area: Suburban)
“I’d say that our kennels are more full than they were last year with an increase in dog intake locally and through relocation. The increased intake coupled with decreased adoption interest are driving a longer length of stay for dogs that definitely are negatively impacted by the shelter environment. We’re doing everything we can to keep them mentally healthy until adoption, but they’re barely hanging on. We are also having to be creative with fee-waived adoption events and other strategies to keep dogs moving, which we haven’t had to use since before the pandemic. I’ll also note that we are doing everything we can to keep relocation corridors open, but we are finding that the shelters we relocate from are holding onto dogs that are clearly unadoptable (health, behavior or both) despite being way over capacity (i.e. many dogs in pop up crates). When we ask why they are holding onto these dogs the answer has been that they are worried about being attacked by people (both internally and externally), by other shelters and even national organizations. It’s noted that this has been worse post-pandemic, in part due to such a significant downturn in intake and intake in adoption resetting expectations in a way that is impossible to live up to now.”
(Euthanasia: No change, Org Type: Shelter without Government Contract, Area: Urban)
“At this time, we have not had an increase in dog euthanasia, but our dog length-of-stay (LOS) significantly increased over the last year. Before the pandemic, it was rare to have dogs with a 6 month LOS. We currently have 4 dogs in our care who have been available for adoption for over a year. We’re having conversations about when LOS turns into a quality of life issue, and this is very new and difficult territory for us.”
(Euthanasia: No change, Org Type: Shelter without Government Contract, Area: Suburban)
“Not killing them is killing us. We have pets who have been with us for 2-3 years because they don’t like interacting with other pets. If we could train past that, it would be helpful, but we don’t have the staff or expertise to do that. We have been past capacity for dogs for more than 2 years. We need a better / larger facility and larger staff / volunteer corps and more government support.”
(Euthanasia: No change, Org Type: Shelter/Rescue with Government Contract, Area: Suburban)
“It is complicated. We are the only “shelter” in our county but we are also private and technically limited admission. This means that we can turn animals away when we are full instead of euthanizing for space. However, we have concerns about what happens to animals we do not take in. They are not a part of our stats but very much on our minds. We’ve had to say no to more requests for help than usual.”
(Euthanasia: No change, Org Type: Shelter without Government Contract, Area: Rural)
“I feel there has been an increase in serious health issues and injuries. The veterinary shortage means we end up at the emergency vet more often for care, which is more expensive and can be cost prohibitive. We do not have a vet on staff. Our expenses are rapidly increasing.”
(Euthanasia: Decreased, Org Type: Shelter without Government Contract, Area: Rural)