Last year’s numbers are in, and the city of Los Angeles is celebrating a huge milestone. In 2012, city leaders came together and made a goal. They wanted to move toward a “no-kill” future where every dog that goes into the shelter system eventually leaves with a new family and is safe from the risk of euthanasia. No-kill is defined as 90 percent of animals not being euthanized, and in 2017, the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services met a save rate of 92.4 percent of all shelter dogs.
Mayor Eric Garcetti made the announcement on Thursday and said,
“Every pet should have a home where they are loved, cared for, and valued. They city’s extraordinary partnership with the No-Kill Los Angeles Coalition has helped save the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals. Every Angeleno who loves animals can help by adopting, fostering and volunteering at their local shelters.”
When the goal was originally set, the Los Angeles shelter system was looking at a measly 57.7 percent for an overall save rate between dogs and cats. A lack of resources, funding, and space—the same problems that plague shelters across the country—was leading to a high number of animals being euthanized. Despite a long way to climb, everyone from the weekend volunteers to Councilman Paul Koretz worked together to save more lives.
As chair of the City Council’s Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee, Koretz is especially thrilled about the city’s progress. He told My News LA,
“Putting an end to the senseless euthanasia of domestic animals in our LA shelters has been one of my lifelong goals.”
Koretz spearheaded the city’s move to ban the sale of animals at pet stores, and the move toward city-wide no-kill shelters is another mark on a successful year of saving animals.
Now that they’ve reached their goal with dogs, shelters and city leaders are continuing to improve their overall save rate. They plan on strengthening the city’s spay and neuter program and implementing more humane policies to benefit rescue animals. They want to make their no-kill accomplishment permanent, and city leaders seem confident they can make it happen.
The dogs and cats of Los Angeles are the ones that benefit the most, but the impact of the city’s accomplishment reaches far beyond their borders. If a city the size of Los Angeles can earn a no-kill status for dogs in five years, other cities can too. There’s hope cities in every corner of the country will be no-kill by 2025.
via Whisker Therapy