Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters
nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and
3.2 million are cats. We estimate that the number of dogs and cats
entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2
million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to
3.1 million).
Each year, approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized
(390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats).
The number of dogs and cats euthanized in U.S. shelters annually has
declined from approximately 2.6 million in 2011. This decline can be
partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted
and an increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to
their owners.
Approximately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year (2
million dogs and 2.1 million cats).
About 810,000 animals who enter shelters as strays are returned to their
owners. Of those, 710,000 are dogs and 100,000 are cats.
Currently, no government institution or animal organization is
responsible for tabulating national statistics for the animal protection
movement. These are national estimates; the figures may vary from state
to state. These estimates are based in part on Shelter Animals
Count data and other known and estimated sources, 2019.
