I hate creative math. It’s manipulative and dishonest. I like my math straight. So here are the numbers for Memphis Animal Services from January 1, 2011 to April 12, 2011:
- Total intakes: 4042
- Killed: 3118
- Returned to owner: 251
So through April 12, the shelter’s kill rate for 2011 is 77%. Just like 2010. Their RTO rate is 6% – just like 2010. Will city leaders step up and get this thing out of the ditch in time to make 2011 something other than a repeat of last year’s dismal failure?
Note: In the 3 weeks between March 21 and April 12, the shelter killed 743 pets. Matthew Pepper says the number of dogs “affected” due to the recent distemper outbreak was 127.
Number of animals on hand as of April 12, 2011: 323
Number of pets on Petfinder: 7 dogs, no cats
Number of pets on PetHarbor: 50
- 42 dogs – mostly ID#s, only one with a photo. There are 10 dogs listed in the stray category for owners looking for their lost dog but every one of them is also listed in the adoptable category. 5 of the 42 dogs are listed as Pitbulls or Pitbull mixes.
- 8 cats – only one with a photo. There are 2 cats listed in the stray category for owners looking for their lost cat but both of them are also listed in the adoptable category.
Note on PetHarbor listings for MAS: It’s complicated. Memphis could set up a direct link and use Chameleon to make it easily accessible but they don’t. If you want to find the MAS pets you have to jump through some hoops on PetHarbor to get there.
“Friends” says that at least 60% of the shelter population are Pitbulls. Given the number of current animals on hand, that would mean MAS has roughly 200 Pitbulls today. Where are they? I only found 5 listed on PetHarbor. How do owners find their lost Pitbulls? How do adopters get acquainted with the Pitbulls waiting for homes at the shelter? What chance is 60% of the shelter population given to live when MAS puts only a few of their pets online, doesn’t have the stray ward open to the public and kills 77% of their pets anyway?
Memphis, please – stop the killing.