Michigan Adjusted Intake
Overview:
For years 2017 through 2019, dog and cat intake increased in Michigan shelters annually. For the same period, the number and percentage of dogs increased 6,392 (35%) while cats increased 11,855 (65%).
2020 saw shelters limiting hours and closing temporarily due to Covid. Intake decreased 32,357 (23%) over the previous year. Dog intake was down 24% while cat intake declined 16%.
One positive thing to come from 2020 and Covid is it gave us a glimpse into what shelters could do if they had less animals coming in. While Covid was the reason this happened in 2020, these same results can be replicated if we focus on spay/neuter to humanely reduce shelter intake.
Source: Annual MDARD Reports (Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development)
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | (Covid) 2020 | |
| Total Adjusted Dog/Cat Intake % | 123,957 100% | 135,897 100% | 142,204 100% | 113,653 100% |
| Total Adjusted Dog Intake % | 62587 51% | 67701 50% | 68979 49% | 52205 46% |
| Total Adjusted Cats Intake % | 61370 49% | 68191 50% | 73225 51% | 61448 54% |
Total Adjusted Intake is calculated as Total Intake (total from all MDARD reports for that year) minus Owner Requested Eutahansia (ORE) and shelters that reported small sample size (under 50 total dog & cat intake), veterinary clinics, dog only shelters, cat only shelters and non-dog/cat shelters. By removing these, we focused on shelters that had intake for both dogs and cats and were better able to understand how these shelters operated.