Year-End Statistics

We ended fiscal year 2011/12 as our best year ever – lots to be proud of!  First of all, intakes were up 10%; we took in 1,671 animals.  We adopted 822 animals or 49%, which was an increase of 21% over last year.  And we euthanized 261 animals or 15%, which was a 14% decrease from the previous year. 

Thank you to all our volunteers that contributed their time to help us reach these terrific results!  I’m working on an Annual Report and will send it when I complete it for all to see.  

Jackie Carey, Animal Services Manager

 

Introducing a New Emblem

As we begin our new fiscal year, you will see the animal shelter’s new logo in various places, including on t-shirts for our supporters and volunteers.  We hope you will come purchase one.  Of course, I want people to associate the new logo with Georgetown Animal Shelter, but when they think of our shelter, I also want them to think of a shelter of excellence (just as we think of Georgetown as a City of Excellence).

And what do I mean by a shelter of excellence? 

An animal shelter where the animals receive excellent care, a shelter that is clean, a shelter that is free of disease, a shelter that only adopts animals that are safe to be put into the community, a shelter that the community is proud of, a shelter that the community supports, and a shelter where people like to volunteer!  

Stats for August

Impounds: 141 dogs and cats

Adoptions: 69 dogs and cats

Euthanized: 2 dogs and 16 cats (8% )

Volunteer hours: 507 hours

Stats for July

 We had such amazing stats for July I’ve been looking forward to sharing the news!  Usually in July we do about 65 adoptions, but this July we adopted 112 animals (including 2 bunnies)! Thank you so much to everyone that made this happen. I attribute this success to our hard working volunteers and staff, the addition of more social media and our special summer pricing!   And not only did we have wonderful adoption stats, we also had only 9% euthanasia (6 dogs and 18 cats), which is pretty darn good for a summer month when we are still very much in kitten season. And for the month of July we had 27 volunteers that donated 550 hours of their time. We are so lucky to have many very dedicated volunteers – thank you!

How Donations Are Used

Ever wonder, what does “Friends” do with the money they raise through animal shelter events? The answer is: They fill our wish list! And the things currently on our wish list are:

  • A water softener for the entire shelter – this way our misting system won’t keep clogging up, as well as the dishwasher and washing machine.
  • A new dishwasher, ours was old and quit working.
  • And a dog wash station, if we can find a place to install it.

All items have been ordered, thanks so much to FRIENDS!

Art for Animals and Dog Walk

The Friends board has decided to switch around a couple of our big fundraisers in hopes of having less competition from other things going around in town. We are switching Art for Animals to February 9th, 2013 and switching to a Valentine’s theme. And we are switching the dog walk to October 27th 2012 and switching to a Halloween theme. More to come about these events.

Stats for June

Intakes: 205 animals (64 dogs and 141 cats)

Adoptions: 75 (28 dogs and 47 cats)

Euthanasia: 39 (3 dogs and 36 cats) 1% for dogs and 11% for cats. This time of year cats are such a challenge.

Volunteer Hours: 637 hrs!

Staycation for Your Dog

Make sure your dog stays safely at home on July 4th and doesn’t end up on the streets or in a shelter.  July 4th is the #1 day pets go missing in the US.

Fireworks can make pets feel they are in danger, which causes them to run and escape seeking safety. Create a safe haven for your pets during the Fourth of July festivities in a quiet, sheltered and escape proof part of your home with plenty of water. Also, turn on the TV to help mask the fireworks with familiar sounds.

It is recommended to exercise and feed your pet a few hours before the fireworks commence so they get tired and can easily relax while in their safe haven.

Source: homeagain.com

Temperament Testing at Our Shelter

As much as I and our staff want to achieve NO KILL status for our shelter, first and foremost I want to put animals into the community that are safe. Sometimes I wonder if shelters want to achieve no kill so badly that they adopt out animals that have questionable temperaments.

For the last few months, our staff has started doing a temperament test on all dogs before we put them up for adoption. The ASPCA’s SAFER (Safety Assessment for Evaluating Rehoming) is a tool for assessing the probability of future canine aggression. The test will tell us if the dog is people aggressive, animal aggressive or food aggressive. If a dog scores high in one area, we can work on behavior modification. But if the dog scores high in multiple areas or is super dog aggressive, it will be euthanized. For this reason, some months we won’t be able to achieve NO KILL but in all good consciousness safety must come first, and I hope you agree and understand.

Stats for April

Impounds: 144 dogs and cats

Adoptions: 41

Euthanized: 16 (7% – Achieved NO KILL !)