Staff and volunteers were ecstatic as Jacksonville, Florida’s Animal Care and Protective Services announced that for the first time ever, over 90% of animals who entered the public shelter found homes or were reunited with their families in the month of November. The shelter made the announcement during last weekend’s successful mega adoption event where shelters and rescues from across Northern Florida gathered to rehome 803 cats and dogs.
The official announcement released on Monday is as follows:
Jacksonville, Florida Animal Shelter Reaches New Milestone
Animal Care & Protective Services achieves “no-kill” status for entire month of November
A major milestone has been reached at Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) for the month of November – 92.1 percent of all cats, dogs, kittens, and puppies that were admitted left the shelter alive. The current definition of a “no-kill” shelter is a 90 percent live outcome or ‘save’ rate.
“This is a historic time in Jacksonville for animal welfare. We know it will take time before this happens each and every month, but we have shown that under the right circumstances, we can achieve our goals by working together as a community,” said Scott Trebatoski, ACPS division chief. “The Jacksonville Humane Society, First Coast No More Homeless Pets and the City of Jacksonville have one of the strongest private-public coalitions in the nation. Thanks to dozens of pet placement partners and volunteers, we have been able to achieve great things.”
According to initial research, Jacksonville is the largest city in the United States to exceed the 90 percent live outcome rate. Austin, Texas, which has achieved a 90 percent or higher save rate for the past few years, is the largest city to consistently reach this goal. Jacksonville’s efforts are being rewarded with the 2013 Best Friends Animal Society’s National No More Homeless Pets Conference coming to Jacksonville for the first time next October.
“Animal Care & Protective Services still brings in nearly 18,000 animals per year and is often at maximum capacity. Without the help of pet placement partners, volunteers, the Friends of Jacksonville Animals, and dozens of national and local charities, we could not come close to these types of achievements,” said Trebatoski. “This weekend’s mega-adoption event, which found homes for more than 800 animals, showed the power of community and volunteerism.”
Trebatoski also noted that results from last weekend’s Home for the Holidays pet adoption event are encouraging and suggest that the trend of more “no-kill” milestones will continue. During the event, 52 cats and 168 dogs were adopted from ACPS, totaling nearly four times the typical adoption rate for a normal three-day period at the shelter. Further, all of the animals transported to the event from ACPS were adopted or sent to rescue organizations, meaning that all kennels and cages returned to the shelter empty.
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