SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s Animal Care Services just announced some of the best news we’ve heard all year - the shelter just ended its fiscal year with the highest live release rate for animals in its history.
The 92% live release rate made ACS one of the “most successful animal shelters” in Texas, officials said.
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The live release percentage is determined by all pets that are adopted, rescued, transferred to another shelter or returned to their owners after being lost.
More than 6,000 pets were adopted and taken to forever homes, while partnerships with other animal rescues and sister shelters saved 10,597 animals, according to ACS officials.
There were reunions of 7,300 pets with their families and more than 1,000 foster parents were able to provide a “shelter without walls” during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
More than 32,500 animals were spayed or neutered and 15,300 pets were microchipped in an effort to help lost pet parents reunite with their animals.
ACS said this fiscal year also marks the lowest number of pets hit by cars in seven years and said 12,800 citations were issued to “protect pets and the community” but did not elaborate on what those citations were for specifically.
Out of 27,194 animals brought in to the shelter, 2,204 were euthanized, the lowest rate in the shelter’s history, according to ACS officials. Comparatively, 32,630 animals were brought to the shelter last year and 2,898 were euthanized.
An ACS report from last year, shows that the shelter had a 90% euthanasia rate in 2004 and in 2011 had a release rate of just 32%.
Some of the raw numbers are down compared to fiscal year 2019 when more than 8,000 pets were returned to their owners, 7,551 were adopted and 41,759 spay/neuter surgeries were performed, according to ACS spokesperson Lisa Norwood.