HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Huntsville Animal Services is finding homes for more pets than ever.
On Thursday, the shelter announced they adopted out 95% of the animals that came in last year.
That is a huge change from 2002 when the shelter was getting in about 10,000 dogs and cats a year and only 2,500 were being adopted.
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle says when he first came into office, 7,500 animals were being euthanized.
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"It was a terrible report to have to look at," said Mayor Battle. "At that point, we started talking about number one, how do we lower our intake, but also how do we make sure that we have more animals who are adopted out."
Because of affordable spay-and-neuter programs, the shelter is now only getting in about 5,000 animals a year.
These numbers reflect the shelter’s success finding homes for pets through adoptions and rescue groups. Huntsville Animal Services also works hard to reunite lost animals with their owners.
Despite the pandemic, the number of animals brought into the shelter in 2020 was down by 1,000.
Huntsville Animal Services was recently under construction to expand the shelter. The expansion includes double-sided kennels to give the adoptable dogs a better quality of life.
Thanks to a $40,000 donation from the Petco Foundation, the shelter also built a new in-house surgery center.
If you're looking to adopt or foster, call Huntsville Animal Services at 256-883-3782. You can keep up with the shelter on their Facebook page.
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