Animal shelters play a vital role in animal welfare. North Shore Animal League America is so thankful to those who care for pets and who strive to make the world a better place for them.

How Animal Shelters Help:

It is estimated that animal shelters care for between 6 - 8 million dogs and cats every year in the United States.

• Animal shelters give homeless pets shelter
• Animal shelters feed the hungry
• Animal shelters give love and care to abandoned animals
• Animal shelters give medical care to animals in need
• Animal shelters spay and neuter animals to assist in ending pet overpopulation
• Animal shelters give behavioral training to pets that may otherwise be unadoptable
• Animal shelters find loving homes for countless animals
• Animal shelters offer various programs and services to care for pets with every array of situations and circumstances
• Animal shelters worked toward pet plight solutions including: pet overpopulation, backyard breeding, and animal cruelty
• Animal shelters give homeless animals a chance at leading the happy lives they deserve

How North Shore Animal League America Helps:

North Shore Animal League America rescues and finds loving homes for more than 20,000 animals each year. This is how we do it:

• North Shore Animal League America conducts @ 500 cooperative adoption events a year resulting in @ 3,500 adoptions – including Tour for Life – a cooperative adoption event that travels throughout the United States and works with more than 100 animal organizations to help find homes for their resident pets and Pet Adoptathon, the world's largest Pet Adoption Event where more than 700 hundred puppies, kittens, dogs and cats are available for adoption
• North Shore Animal League America's mobile units embark on @ 240 local rescue missions a year saving almost 2,000 animals
• North Shore Animal League America's Medical Center sees @ 8,500 outpatients each year and performs @ 11,000 spay/neuter operations and 12,500 vaccinations
• North Shore Animal League America's public Pet Health Center sees @ 8,400 patients each year, performing almost 10,000 spay/neuters and @728 special surgeries
• North Shore Animal League America sponsors a Public Education Team where dedicated people travel to schools, camps, day care centers, and other children populated venues to instruct them in the basics of pet care
• North Shore Animal League America sponsors a community Pet Outreach Team where a group of dedicated associates bring puppies to hospital wards, Alzheimer's and Cerebral Palsy centers, and other long-term care facilities where people are unable to experience the joys of pet ownership
• North Shore Animal League America conducts more than 250 cat visitation site visits a year through the Purrr-fect Company Program to improve the physical and emotional well-being of patients through human and animal interactions in a variety of settings
• North Shore Animal League America offers a Foster Care Program where animal lovers can care and love for a special needs animal in their own home without having to make the long term commitment of ownership and covers all medical care the pet may need at no cost
• North Shore Animal League America offers a HELP Program (Help for Every Little Pet), caring for the hundreds of orphaned or newborn puppies and kittens in our Foster Care Program until they are healthy and strong enough to be placed for adoption into loving, permanent homes.
• North Shore Animal League America offers a Sponsorship Program where special needs animals – either in our care or in a foster home – can get the love and medical attention they need for their entire lives
• North Shore Animal League America offers a Help Me Heal Program where nearly 25,000 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens each year receive necessary and often life-saving medical care and surgeries
• North Shore Animal League America offers a Seniors for Seniors Program where mature pets are perfectly matched with mature people for the most rewarding relationship possible for our revered seniors
• North Shore Animal League America has a Surviving Pet Care Program, offering its members the peace of mind knowing that their beloved companions will continue to receive care and love should their pets survive them

North Shore Animal League America is more than an animal shelter. It is a community of loving and devoted pet enthusiasts who have the best interests of pets and people at heart. Not a moment passes where we neglect to ponder how we can better the lives of our canine and feline friends; for "saving pets is our passion©."

During National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, we ask that you take a moment to reflect on pets and their plights and recognize what a valuable role they play in our lives – and what a valuable role we can play in theirs.