Powhatan County, Virginia, has about 28,000 residents and is part of the Richmond metropolitan area. Animal control and sheltering are handled by the county through a municipal office, Powhatan Animal Control, that has four employees and a small shelter. The shelter takes in strays and owner surrenders. The web site for the shelter does not mention any restrictions on owner surrenders. The animal control officers do not impound cats except for owner surrenders and injured stray cats — cats are considered free roaming.
In 2010, the county shelter took in 594 animals and had a live release rate of 83%. The live release rate rose to 96% in 2011, and remained at 96% in 2012 and 2013. Intake has been steadily falling, going from 595 animals in 2010 to 505 animals in 2011, to 437 in 2012 and 413 in 2013. The Virginia state database from which these statistics are taken does not break out owner-requested euthanasias. If the category of “died in facility” is added to euthanasias, the shelter had a 95% live release rate in both 2012 and 2013.
The shelter’s high live release rate is due in part to its participation in adoption events with Metro Richmond Pet Savers. It also transfers many of its animals to rescues, including FLAG and BARK. The shelter typically transfers over 200 animals per year to rescues.
Powhatan County, Virginia, was originally listed by this blog on May 2, 2013, based on its 2012 statistics. This post is a revision and update with 2013 statistics.
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