KANAB, Utah (June 15, 2023) —Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in shelters by 2025, recently released its annual data report which gives the most accurate and comprehensive national overview of the number of dogs and cats that enter and exit shelters in a given year. Prince George’s County Animal Services Division took in 5,354 animals in 2022 and 65% were saved, while 1,361 were killed (1,126 dogs, 235 cats).
Targeted programming proven to save more lives, including partnerships between no-kill and not yet no-kill shelters, as well as shelters and rescue groups, cat and big-dog-focused initiatives, and advocacy work generally can help fix the problem. Best Friends occasionally embeds staff members in shelters that are struggling in order to help the shelter implement lifesaving programs. Despite Best Friends allocating some of this support to Prince George’s County Animal Services Division, there was limited success as the practices were not fully embraced or implemented.
Individuals can help save lives by choosing to adopt from a shelter or rescue group instead of purchasing from a breeder or store, spay or neuter their pets, foster kittens or an adult dog, volunteer, donate, and advocate for proven lifesaving programming for pets. In Prince George’s County, individuals can also advocate for elected officials to update outdated ordinances that prevent field and shelter service teams from returning lost animals to their homes, create barriers to adoptions and costly breed restrictions, and urge the County to embrace modern animal services practices.
To help with lifesaving, there will be a free pet adoption event on Saturday, June 24 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Prince George’s County Animal Services Facility and Adoption Center located at 3750 Brown Station Road in Upper Marlboro. Adoption fees will be covered by Best Friends.
“We've made great progress and there is still momentum for our achievable goal, despite the small dip in lifesaving in 2022. 2025 is only two years away, so now is the time to support your local shelters. Together, let's make every shelter and every community no-kill by 2025,” added Castle.