2011 Progress Report

 

 

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Summary

2011 was Year Seven of our Maddie's^® Pet Rescue Project in NYC. As the economy struggled to improve and Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) continued to labor under reduced budgets, we continued to move steadily ahead in our goal to become a no-kill community. Among the highlights of our progress in 2011:

Fewer animals were killed.

Euthanasia of cats and dogs at our city shelters has continued to decline every year since 2003, and in 2011, fell to just over 10,000 — down from over 11,000 in 2010.

Since 2003, euthanasia at AC&C has been reduced by 68 percent.

Intake continued to decline.

AC&C intake continued to decline in 2011, to an all-time low of 32,325. This represents a 9.4 percent drop since 2010.

Transfers continued to be our most effective tool for saving lives.

More than 14,000 dogs and cats — representing more than 44 percent of the animals entering AC&C shelters in 2011 — were transferred to partner shelters and rescue groups for adoption. Transfers from AC&C have increased by over 159 percent, from 5,519 in 2003 to 14,232 in 2011. The Mayor's Alliance Wheels of Hope transport fleet transported approximately 14,000 animals to rescue groups, fosters, adopters, and spay/neuter and vet appointments. Seventy percent of these were transports of dogs, cats, and exotics out of AC&C.

Adoptions remained strong.

In 2011, adoptions, unduplicated transfers, and return to owners by community partners — which include 110-plus Maddie's Pet Partners (MPPs) and AC&C — totaled more than 29,700, representing over close to 72 percent of the total intake by community partners.

More lives are being saved at Animal Care & Control of NYC.

Approximately 21,400 dogs and cats from AC&C were adopted, transferred to other shelters and rescue groups, or returned to their owners in 2011. Close to three out of every four lives were saved, as compared with one out of three in 2003. Community-wide (includes AC&C and MPPs) in 2003, only 33 percent of dogs and cats were saved. By 2011, that rate had increased to 72 percent. Since 2003, 220,000 dogs' and cats' lives have been saved through the combined efforts of AC&C and MPPs.

Saving treatable dogs and cats.

Through our Picasso Veterinary Fund and other medical assistance programs, close to 1,000 cats and dogs received medical care to prepare them for adoption. The Picasso Veterinary Fund, which is dedicated to providing treatment for sick and injured cats and dogs, is supported entirely by private donations.

Aggressive spay/neuter programs boost surgeries.

Our success in reducing euthanasia in NYC depends in part on our ability to reduce the number of animal births. Ensuring the availability of free and low-cost spay/neuter services is necessary for us to be successful. In 2011, total spay/neuter surgeries performed by private veterinarians and non-profit organizations that participate in the Maddie's Spay/Neuter Project in NYC reached an all-time high of well over 67,000 spay/neuter surgeries, with the ASPCA alone providing over 42,000 surgeries.

TNR for our community cats.

The New York City Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor's Alliance continued in 2011 to engage and support feral cat caretakers by providing them with information, assistance, giveaways, and TNR and specialized training (such as bottle-feeding and taming kittens). We acquired additional funding from Maddie's Fund for spay/neuter of community cats, and began a campaign to engage more private practice veterinarians in spay/neuter of feral and stray cats. The Maddie's Community Cats grant paid for more than 11,000 spay/neuter surgeries for community cats in 2011, and we expect to grow the program as we move into the final phase of our quest for a no-kill NYC.

Our continuing success in saving lives in New York City is a result of the collaboration of our dedicated rescue groups and shelters; the faith and crucial funding support we received from Maddie's Fund and the ASPCA, and most importantly, from individual donors; and the generosity and caring of the thousands of New Yorkers who adopt from a shelter or rescue group each year.

Please join us in our success in saving lives! Your tax-deductible donation will help us move closer to our goal of a no-kill NYC!