ROANOKE, Va. – 10 News is working for you to help Clear the Shelters! During the month of August we will be featuring a local adoptable shelter pet looking for its forever home.
The Data
Recommended Videos
According to Shelter Animals Count data, approximately 5.8 million companion animals entered U.S. animal shelters nationwide in 2024. Of those, approximately 2.9 million are dogs and 2.9 million are cats.
In 2024, community intakes for dogs and cats totaled 1.4% fewer than in 2023, representing 83,000 fewer animals. Intakes are evenly split between dogs and cats, with both contributing to the overall decline. However, dog intakes saw a more significant decrease compared to cats.
Intakes have declined by 11% (735,000 animals) since 2019. This larger gap suggests a shift in community dynamics.
In 2024, total adoptions for dogs and cats reached 4,192,443 (2M dogs and 2M cats), a slight 0.4% increase (17,153 more adoptions) from 2023 but still 5.6% lower than 2019, with over 250,000 fewer animals finding homes since then.
Dog Adoptions
Shelter Animals Count data shows however, dog adoptions continued to decline, dropping 1% (nearly 22,000 fewer adoptions) from 2023 and 13% (308,000 fewer adoptions) since 2019.
Cat Adoptions
Conversely, Shelter Animals Count data shows cat adoptions grew 2% (nearly 39,000 more adoptions) over 2023 and surpassed 2019 levels by 3% (57,000 additional adoptions), with peak growth during summer months.
This highlights the ongoing challenge of declining dog adoption numbers while building on gains in cat adoptions.
Why August?
August is normally one of the busiest months for animal shelters across the region, in part, due to kitten season.
Clear The Shelters is an annual, nationwide pet adoption and shelter donation campaign that is spearheaded by NBCUniversal Local.
Through this campaign, you can help local shelters in the region by finding rescues a loving home.
Help 10 News share their story!
10 News will post a new animal each weekday for the Clear The Shelters campaign. Each post will feature a new animal, more information about the animal, and adoption information.
Even if you can’t adopt, you can help.
Share each pet on social media and help spread the word! You may not be looking for another pet, but someone out there is still searching.
You can also donate to local shelters. Most accept monetary online donations, have Amazon wish lists or accept donations in person.
Find out how, and what each of 10 News Clear the Shelters partner shelter needs:
You can find 10 News’ 2022, 2023 and 2024 Clear The Shelters story here.