The numbers are impressive. Manhattan has been a sad place for homeless animals in the past, but in 2015 euthanasia rates dropped down a whopping 36% for dogs and 25% for cats and adoptions rose up about 17%. Those are some pretty incredible statistics.
In 2013 New York City shelters euthanized more than 50% of the animals brought in. Last year they euthanized 15% of the cats and 9% of the dogs. You can’t argue with numbers like that. Lives saved. Lives improved.
In a New York Times article Councilman and chairman of the Health Committee Corey Johnson said that the shelters try, “But they are extremely underfunded and don’t have the right facilities.”
New York is working to change that. The city hired a design firm in 2015 and they are scouting out locations to build “full-service shelters” in the Bronx and Queens and existing shelters are going to be upgraded and expanded.
In 2007 the city budget for Animal Care Centers was $7 million but that has almost doubled to $13 million in 2016.
(Picture Credit: Getty Images)The city is using that money to take the animals out on the streets in new “Mobile adoption centers” which were responsible for more than 700 adoptions last year. There’s a food pantry in the Brox now, behavioral experts have been hired, playgrounds, and they are soon going to put artificial grass in the backyard run at shelters in Manhattan. Having time to get out of their kennels and play is important and helps dogs be more calm for potential adopters and really increases their chances of finding a forever home.
Counselors have been hired to help families who feel they need to surrender their pets. Those counselors have helped 1,700 families make the decision to keep their pets instead of surrendering them to city shelters.
It’s not easy. The shelters care for 35,000 animals. It’s an overwhelming task but thank God the city is taking steps to improve the lives of those animals and give them the best possible opportunity to find a loving forever home.
Way to go New York! Thank you for caring about those who have no voice and can’t help themselves.
If you live in New York please consider adopting a pet this year. This is a lifetime commitment and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but if you have the time and the means, it would mean the world to a dog or cat in need.
You can read more at the New York Times.
