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SALT LAKE CITY — The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that around 3.3 million dogs and 3.2 million cats enter animal shelters throughout the United States every year. Of these, only 620,000 dogs and 90,000 cats are ever returned to their owners, and about 1.5 million are euthanized.
In Utah, there are a number of nonprofit groups and shelters dedicated to finding homes for companion animals, including the Humane Society of Utah, Utah Animal Adoption Center, Best Friends Animal Society and the Utah Pet Samaritan Fund.
Kelsey Woodring, who works with cats at the Utah Animal Adoption Center, said the center has anywhere between 30 and 40 dogs at any given time and between 60 and 100 cats. When female cats go into heat between the beginning of spring and November, what’s known as “kitten season,” Woodring said the shelter sees an increase in kittens that need adoption.
“That’s when we really bulk up on animals in the program,” Woodring said.
According to its website, the Utah Animal Adoption Center “finds homes for an average of 1,000 dogs and cats each year” and is “dedicated to reducing the tragedies of pet overpopulation, the euthanasia of healthy adoptable pets and ending animal suffering.”
Woodring said the Utah Animal Adoption Center would ideally take in small animals other than dogs and cats, but that it lacks the resources or staff to do so.
“We don’t really have the manpower or space to do small animal adoptions,” Woodring said.
When a cat or dog is brought in or picked up from an animal service agency, Woodring said they will sometimes get adopted within a week. “But we’ve also had animals that have been with us for upwards of three years,” Woodring said.
What accounts for this difference?
“I definitely think some just get overlooked,” Woodring said. “We’ve got some where they’re just your basic black cat or your basic Lab.” Others have behavioral issues, she said.
Beverly Rafferty, who has been volunteering with Pet Samaritan Fund for 13 years said she has observed that dogs tend to be adopted more than cats.
“It just depends” how long an animal will stay with the shelter before being adopted, Rafferty said. “Sometimes they go really fast, and other times you go three months before someone decides they want them.”
Woodring said that a black and white cat named Ella, who had been at Utah Animal Adoption Center for three years, was recently adopted.
An orange tabby named Coco and gray cat named Nick also arrived at the Utah Animal Adoption Center three years ago as semiferal cats that had little interaction with humans, Woodring said. Both cats recently acquired a head tilt and began acting lethargic and having balancing issues.
A fundraiser has been started to raise money for CT scans to look for signs of stroke in both cats, according to the fundraiser’s description. “Without knowing what is wrong with them, adopters are turned off,” the description reads. “They don’t want a cat with unknown medical problems.”
Woodring said people should take their time when picking out an animal to adopt. She said she has seen people “fall in love” with animals they had no intention of adopting when they came in.
“Don’t go for the one that first runs up to you and looks for attention,” Woodring said. “Take your time, get to know the shyer ones. Sometimes they just need that extra minute or two to open up."
Neither Pet Samaritan Fund nor Utah Animal Adoption Center euthanize animals that do not get adopted, Rafferty and Woodring said. Both noted, however, that exceptions are made for terminally ill animals.
“Everybody is safe here until they find their home, as long as they’re happy and healthy,” Woodring said.
In addition to finding homes for animals, Pet Samaritan Fund also provides medical assistance for pets whose owners could otherwise not afford it, Rafferty said. Pet Samaritan Fund’s website notes that it was founded in 1991 “to help people who could not afford medical help.”
KSL.com attempted to reach out to Humane Society Utah to contribute to this story, but they could not be reached when the story was written.
