Augusta Animal Services continues to rank first among Georgia animal shelters for most cat and dog deaths.
The shelter, which is the only municipal shelter in Richmond County, took in 5,283 dogs and cats in 2022, according to an annual data report from Best Friends Animal Society. Of those, 43% of them died unnecessarily, according to Best Friends.
“That’s pretty dire and very far away from what we would expect or hope,” said Carrie Ducote, national director of the Shelter Collaborative Program for Best Friends Animal Society.
The animal welfare organization’s goal is for shelters to save 90% of the animals they take in, Ducote said.
“We don’t expect 100% to be saved because around 10% that come in are too medically or behaviorally fragile,” she said.
Augusta Animal Services reported a save rate of 47%. That’s significantly lower than the 81% national rate and the 82% statewide rate.
Georgia, which was fifth in the country for shelter deaths in 2022, is unique in that much of the state is rural, and many areas don’t have animal control services, Ducote said. The states that ranked worse than Georgia were Texas, California, North Carolina and Florida.
The report comes out shortly after Augusta Animal Services announced a new community cat program to help reduce the number of free-roaming cats that are impounded and killed. The new initiative allows healthy outdoor cats to be sterilized and returned to their outdoor homes.
“I’m excited about the program,” Ducote said. “The shelter euthanized about 1,200 more cats than we would have expected last year. After we get that program up and running, hopefully, we can partner with the shelter to learn more about what’s going on with the dog population there.”
Shelters as a whole saw an increase in the number of dogs and cats killed in 2022 as they experienced higher intakes and lower adoptions, Ducote said.
“A lot of those who wanted to adopt did it during the pandemic,” she said.
