(Alameda, CA — March 19, 2001) Six months into the campaign to save every healthy shelter cat and dog throughout the state of Utah, No More Homeless Pets in Utah (NMHPU) has posted some impressive results.
The coalition of twenty-two no-kill organizations, two traditional humane societies, fifty-seven animal control agencies and eighty veterinary hospitals is gauging progress towards its five-year goal by monitoring three benchmarks of achievement:
Adoptions: Adoptions rose 23 % statewide in comparison to the same six-month period in 1999. No-kill organizations increased adoptions by 73%, animal control agencies increased adoptions by 13 %.
The goal for this first six months was to boost adoptions by 1,660 cats and dogs over 1999’s adoption baseline for the same time period. The coalition exceeded its goal, finding homes for 2,386 cats and dogs over last year’s baseline. Total adoptions numbered 12,559.
Spay/neuter surgeries: Spay/neuter among statewide project participants totaled 26,584 surgeries, an increase of 21 % over the same six month period in 1999. The goal for NMHPU was to perform 9,132 surgeries above baseline. Although the project was 1,401 surgeries short, NMHPU expects to make up the difference within the next six months.
Shelter deaths: In the project’s first six months, shelter deaths statewide declined 9% in comparison to the same time period in 1999. The goal for this first six months was to decrease shelter deaths by 1,636 cats and dogs. The coalition exceeded its goal, decreasing deaths by 2,330.
The lead agency for No More Homeless Pets in Utah is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation’s largest refuge for abused and abandoned animals.
The project is funded by a grant from Maddie’s Fund, a pet rescue foundation whose goal is to help animal shelters throughout the nation establish community-wide adoption guarantees for healthy cats and dogs within five years.
