No-Kill Progress
Maddie's Fund® is confident that we can reach the goal of a no-kill nation by 2015, and countless indicators strongly support that claim.
From New York City to Dane County, Wisconsin, Maddie's® Community Collaborative Projects are demonstrating successful no-kill community-building in diverse geographic, demographic and socio-economic regions.
Starting with a three year grant to the University of California at Davis in 2001, Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Programs have sparked shelter medicine curricula in 24 of the 28 veterinary schools nationwide. University programs are creating a talented pool of veterinarians with specialized knowledge and skills to keep shelter pets healthy and treat those pets who are sick and injured, thereby allowing more cats and dogs to be adopted by loving new homes.
More and more animal welfare resources are coming into play. Funding from foundations has increased from less than three million in annual giving in 1996 to an expected $30 million in 2010, and it's projected to climb to $70 million by 2015.
The United States population is growing, and more people are adopting pets. In 1996, there were 130 million pets in homes. Today, there are about 180 million pets in homes, and by 2015 there will likely be over 200 million pets in homes. We can save all of the healthy and treatable shelter pets if we adopt out 3 million more each year, an attainable feat in light of the growing number of available pet homes.
Public attitudes are changing, and grassroots movements demanding change are springing up from Seattle, WA to Charlottesville, VA. Today, the vast majority of pet dogs and cats are considered family members1, provided with the love, attention and medical care formerly reserved for the humans in our family. Folks who see their pets as family are not willing to let them needlessly languish or die in animal shelters.
And finally: The Advertising Council, Maddie's Fund and The Humane Society of the United States launched The Shelter Pet Project in September 2009. The very first national Ad Council campaign focused on pets urges people who are looking for a companion animal to make shelters and rescue groups their first choice for adoption. As of November 2010, the campaign has generated:
- over $31 million in donated media
- 305,000 visitors to www.theshelterpetproject.org
- over 73,000 people actively "shopped" for a new shelter pet within the Pet Personals subpage
- generated over 13 million social media impressions
"This three year national public service campaign has the potential to save all of our nation's healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats and change the course of events in the cause of animal welfare," according to Maddie's Fund President, Rich Avanzino.
1American Animal Hospital Association, 1995 Pet Owner Survey
Getting to No-Kill by 2015 Presentation 
