Counting critters at the Everett Animal Shelter

The city of Everett operates Snohomish County's sole public animal shelter. The Everett Animal Shelter also serves the county and other cities. Its mission is to get adoptable animals into good homes and educate folks about spaying, neutering and micro-chipping pets. What animals come in, and what happens to them?

The great majority of animals housed at the shelter are dogs and cats, followed by small mammals (guinea pigs, mice, rats, etc.) and domestic birds. Also housed are rabbits and reptiles -- and the occasional tarantula, ram or pig.

In 2012, about one quarter of all the animals that arrived were adopted -- an outcome that people at the shelter like to call "tails out the door."

Last year, the rate of cases that ended in euthanasia declined to 28 percent.

The city's animal services budget for 2012 was $1.3 million. That covers the shelter and animal control.

The department has 14 full-time employees and some part-timers. The shelter, along Smith Island Road, spans 19,000 square feet.

More than 300 people volunteer there. They work inside and outside the building, said Shannon Delgado, city animal services manager.

"They come together for us and help us out," she said. Volunteers logged 21,000 hours in 2012.

The shelter's primary expenses are staffing and supplies.

The shelter always needs donations. Needs vary by season and animal population. For more information, call 1-425-257-6000 ext. 5 or visit bit.ly/SFFHv, which generally includes a current-needs list.

The Herald often posts photo galleries of animals up for adoption at the Everett Animal Shelter. See those at www.heraldnet.com/furandfeathers.

Everett Animal Shelter intakes

	2010	2011	2012	Totals
Cat	3,725	3,318	3,066	10,109
Dog	2,935	2,723	2,496	8,154
Misc. mammals	189	279	201	669
Bird, domestic	66	34	86	186
Rabbit	12	89	61	162
Bird, wild	13	37	27	77
Reptile	23	12	14	49
Goat	4	12	3	19
Hamster	1	8	2	11
Fish	4	0	4	8
Wolf hybrid	2	1	2	5
Other	1	1	2	4
Arachnid	1	0	0	1
Pig	1	0	0	1
Ram	1	0	0	1
Totals	6,978	6,514	5,964	19,456

 

Everett Animal Shelter outcomes

	2010	2011	2012	Totals
Euthanasia	2,599	2,298	1,702	6,599
Adoption	2,160	2,046	1,583	5,789
Transferred to another facility	1,069	1,215	1,629	3,913
Returned to owner	908	816	828	2,552
Dead on arrival	131	132	197	460
Died	37	29	20	86
Temporary care	1	19	25	45
Other	2	6	6	14
Wildlife released	7	3	3	13
Totals	6,914	6,564	5,993	19,471

Source: City of Everett

Learn more

• Everett Animal Shelter: www.everettwa.org/default.aspx?ID=35

Other local shelters

• N.O.A.H. Animal Adoption Center, Stanwood: 360-629-7055, www.thenoahcenter.org
• PAWS, Lynnwood: 425-787-2500, www.paws.org
• Sarvey Wildlife Care Center, Arlington: 360-435-4817, www.sarveywildlife.org