Adopting Dogs 2024
With 30% Spike in U.S. Shelter Dog Deaths in 2023, National Rescue Dog Day Highlights Need for Adoption
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May 20 is National Rescue Dog Day, and it comes at a time when animal shelters and rescue groups across the country are overflowing with dogs of all breeds, shapes and sizes. — This article was previously published by GreenwichFreePress.com. According to data from Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters in 2025, the number of dogs killed in U.S. shelters increased by nearly 30% in 2023 compared to the year prior. Now is a perfect time to adopt your next pet. From 2022 to 2023, the top five states engaged in the most unnecessary killing of healthy, adoptable dogs in shelters because they did not have a safe place to call home include Texas, with an 11% increase (48,600 dogs); California a 46% increase (22,000 dogs); North Carolina a 39% increase (13,500 dogs); Georgia, a 70% increase (12,900 dogs); and Alabama, which saw a 2% decrease, but still ranked among the highest volume of dogs killed (10,400 dogs).