SPECIAL EDITION: PetPoint Report for the Year-End 2011 This special edition PetPoint Report for the Year-End 2011 offers a complete year over year comparison of U.S. pet owner demand for dogs and cats available for adoption and is the first annualized PetPoint Report ever published. It aggregates data from 795 animal welfare organizations ("AWOs") in the United States and compares it to same shelter aggregate data from 2010. For the purposes here, AWOs are defined as animal control agencies, SPCAs, humane societies and rescue groups. Only data from AWOs operating PetPoint for the duration of both 2010 and 2011 have been included. The report includes data on 1,537,961 dogs and cats that entered AWOs during the year 2011 (referred to as Intakes) and 1,508,754 dogs and cats that left AWOs over the same period (referred to as Outcomes). Only data for dogs and cats is reported here. AWOs from 45 states (excluding Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Rhode Island), Washington D.C. and U.S. Virgin Islands are represented in this report.   Intakes Cats Intakes of cats into AWOs totaled 735,080 during 2011, a decline of 6% from 2010. Owner surrenders of cats totaled 260,319, a decline of 5% from 2010. Cats returned to shelters from owners previously adopting from the same organization totaled 21,139 in 2011, up 5% over the previous year. Stray cat intakes totaled 346,140 in 2011, a decline of 9% from 2010. 73,538 cats were transferred in from other AWOs, an increase of 1% over 2010. Seizures of cats conducted by law enforcement organizations totaled 33,944 during 2011, an increase of 4% over 2010. Dogs Intakes of dogs totaled 802,881 in 2011, even with 2010. Owner surrenders of dogs totaled 244,716, a decline of 1% from 2010. Returns of dogs previously adopted from the same organizations totaled 38,191, even with 2010. Stray dog intakes totaled 289,568 in 2011, a decline of 2% from 2010. Transfers of dogs into reporting AWOs totaled 162,494, an increase of 2% over the previous year. Seizures of dogs conducted by law enforcement agencies increased 7% to 67,912. Outcomes Cats A total of 720,301 cats left AWOs in 2011, down 5% from 2010. 311,125 cats were adopted in 2011, up 2% over 2010. Euthanasia totaled 331,977, a decline of 11% compared to the previous year. Transfers of cats out of reporting AWOs to other organizations totaled 41,681, an increase of 6% over 2010. 16,053 cats were returned to their owners in 2011, up 5% from 2010. A total of 19,465 cats died (excluding euthanasia) while in AWOs during 2011, a decline of 8% from 2010. Dogs 788,453 dogs left AWOs during 2011, even with 2010. Adoptions increased 2% to 365,095 compared to 2010. Euthanasia declined 3% to 235,128 compared to 2010. Transfers of dogs from reporting AWOs to other organizations increased 6% to 79,883. Dogs returned to owners totaled 96,149 in 2011, a decline of 1% compared with 2010. The number of dogs that died while in shelters totaled 12,198 (excluding euthanasia), a decline of 8% over 2010. Adoption Fees Adoption fees for cats younger than 1 year of age averaged $66 in 2011, a decline of 3% from 2010. Adoption fees for cats older than 1 year of age averaged $42, a decline of 11% from 2010. For dogs less than 1 year of age, adoption fees averaged $121, a 3% increase over 2010. For dogs older than 1 year of age, adoption fees averaged $91, even with 2010. The standard PetPoint Report is a monthly gauge of U.S. pet owner demand for dogs and cats available for adoption. Data is aggregated via the PetPoint Animal Management Software, a cloud-based application developed and launched in 2005. PetPoint is the most widely used animal management application in North American animal welfare with licensed organizations now serving more than 75% of the human population in the United States. PetPoint reports are published monthly on the third Monday of each month, excluding holidays, in which case they are published the following business day. For more information or to find out how you can subscribe for regional, state, quarterly or annual data, contact one of those whose names and contact details are listed below. Brad Grucelski, Vice President, PetPoint Solutions Pethealth Inc. bradg@petpoint.com (866) 630-7387 x284 *Please note there was a typing error in the May 2011 PetPoint Report regarding stray dog intakes. It has since been corrected and we would like to thank the reader who brought it to our attention.