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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Salt Lake County Animal Shelter says euthanasia rates for cats and dogs were down in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2009.
The shelter says about one-third fewer cats and one-fifth fewer dogs were put to sleep in the first three months of 2010 compared to the first quarter of last year.
Shelter Director Shawni Larrabee says 146 cats and 101 dogs have been euthanized at the shelter this year.
Euthanasia rates also are down by half from 2007.
In 2008 Salt Lake County started two programs targeting adoptions for adult cats and dogs perceived by the public as vicious.
Larrabee also says the rate of strays redeemed by owners who had lost their pets climbed back up to 25 percent in the first quarter of this year.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
