Prescott City (population 40,000) is the county seat of Yavapai County, located in the center of Arizona north of Phoenix. A town called Prescott Valley (population 39,000) lies northeast of Prescott city. The two cities, along with Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt, are part of an area known as the Quad Cities. The shelter states that its population served is 115,000.
The Yavapai Humane Society (YHS) is a private, non-profit organization that provides animal shelter services for Prescott City and Prescott Valley and part of Yavapai County. YHS takes in owner surrenders but it frequently has a waiting list, and does not note any exceptions on its website.
The shelter has a “Safety Net” program for people who are having difficulty caring for their pets, barn cat and TNR programs, a fund for extraordinary medical expenses, and it networks for hard-to-place animals. In 2012, YHS added a cat medical facility, a digital x-ray machine, and an enrichment program. The shelter logged over 36,000 volunteer hours.
YHS does not release its full numerical statistics, and instead releases reports of percentages. They reported a 90% live release rate for 2011, which was their first year at 90% or above. Their live release rate increased to 95% for 2012. Their annual report for 2012 stated that their intake for the year was 3500 dogs and cats, with 6% of cats and 5% of dogs being euthanized. For 2013, YHS reports that their live release rate increased to 97%. The shelter euthanized 104 dogs and cats in 2013, compared to 1570 in 2009, the last full year before their program to increase save rates began.
Prescott City and Prescott Valley are counted in the Running Totals as 90%+ communities.
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