For the Love of Animals – Part 2

By Diane Robertson

Date:  08/06/2013

On August 2, 2013 I created a rather long blog post about facts, figures and information requirements in rescue.  It was basically a rant or a wish list for the rescue that I work with.  Since I spent so much time and energy writing about data, I now see more and more of the articles and videos that others have produced on the topic of information gathering and publication of that data.  It is the publication of data that helps tell the story of what we are doing and how well we are doing.

There are statistics from national organizations about total intake and kill rates from their members.  There are statistics from individual public shelters.  Then there are the statistics that rescue organizations should be posting.  Shelters are now often posting how many dogs and cats were sent to rescue organizations.  I want the rescue organizations to show how many of those animals received they handled and their overall numbers.  The overall number for some rescues will help people understand that there are many, many, many more unwanted dogs and cats than the 6-8 million often reported (that comes from national organizations).

Let’s help tell the story of the plight of our beloved pets so we can encourage more adoptions, more spay and neuter, more volunteers, more foster parents and yes, more donations to help fund these critical organizations.

Donate to Animal Outreach of the Mother Lode Today:  http://www.strutyourmutt.org/team/ao.

I am not alone in my deep belief in the value of data in animal rescue.

Following are links to other articles on the topic of data, facts, figures and the value of information in animal shelters and rescue.

• Maddie’s Fund on Statistics:                                         http://www.maddiesfund.org/Maddies_Institute/Videos/Maddies_Fund_on_Statistics.html
• Using Shelter Metrics to Measure and Set Goals:  http://www.maddiesfund.org/Maddies_Institute/Videos/Using_Shelter_Metrics_to_Measure_and_Set_Goals.html
• American Humane Complete Operational Guide to Record Keeping:     http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/animals/operational-guides/op-guide-recordkeeping.pdf
• American Humane Strategic Planning Guide:  http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/animals/operational-guides/op-guide-strategicplanning.pdf
• City of Sacramento shelter statistics:         http://www.cityofsacramento.org/generalservices/animal-care/statistics.cfm