11 Facts About Animal Homelessness

Paw Pet Pantry Pet Homelessness
by pawpetpantry
on December 9, 2021
  1. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home.[1]
  2. The main reasons animals are in shelters: owners give them up, or animal control finds them on the street.[2]
  3. Each year, approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes. Act as a publicist for your local shelter so pets can find homes.[3]
  4. Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.[4]
  5. According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2% of cats and only 15 to 20% of dogs are returned to their owners.[5]
  6. 25% of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.[6]
  7. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners.[7]
  8. It’s impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States. Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million.[8]
  9. Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. Overpopulation, due to owners letting their pets accidentally or intentionally reproduce, sees millions of these “excess” animals killed annually.[9]
  10. Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.[10]
  11. According to The Humane Society, there are about 3,500 brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the US and 10,000 rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in North America.[11]
  1. The Mosby Foundation. “Truth of what happens to shelter animals everyday.” Web Accessed February 23, 2015. ↩︎
  2. Towell, Lisa. “Why People Abandon Animals.” PETA Prime, 2010. Web Accessed February 23, 2015. ↩︎
  3. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  4. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  5. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  6. The Humane Society of the United States. “U.S. Pet Ownership and Shelter Population Estimates.” 2012 & 2013. Web Accessed February 23, 2015. ↩︎
  7. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  8. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  9. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  10. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Pet Statistics.” Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
  11. The Humane Society. “Pets by the numbers.” Web Accessed February 20, 2019. ↩︎

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