Denise Bergquist’s Post

In order to understand the overcrowding animal shelter epidemic, it's important to understand the difference between a rescue and an open county shelter. In general, an open county shelter is required to take every dog. Rescues are not. So every stray dog, and every owner surrender is taken into the shelter (yes, some do close open enrollment in crisis). Does that help to understand why shelters are overcrowded and euthanize for space? For me, there's a VERY sad difference. In a rescue, I generally have the luxury of time to help a dog. In a shelter, I do not have that luxury;-( I hope this helps.

Roughly 6.5 million cats and dogs entered U.S. animal shelters in 2023, according to Shelter Animals Count–and there's not much sign of slowing. It’s no secret that people are struggling and when people struggle, so do their pets. As families seek support for housing, utilities, and food: What do people need to support their pets as well? HASS is answering that question through our Intake Triage Project this year! Read more below. https://lnkd.in/e67FsbgZ

Let’s help by every means necessary

A newsletter from Morning Brew hit my inbox with the following statistics: The number of stray dogs in US shelters has increased by 22% since 2021, per data from the Shelter Animals Count database. Canine deaths in shelters are up 27% from last year and 78% from 2021. The Bloomberg article is linked below. Those who work in rescue, unfortunately, knew this could happen. Most folks who adopt dogs are first time dog owners. They finally had the time to stay home, acclimate a dog and have a companion during difficult times. But then, they were called back to the office… and things got tricky. I’ve met a good number of pandemic dogs and the most common issues I see are: - Social awkwardness to full on reactivity towards dogs, humans and/or both - Separation anxiety Both difficult to handle during swift RTO mandates. We ask folks who adopt dogs to stand by them, but how can they when their livelihoods are at risk? These policies not only cause harm to humans. These policies are killing dogs. I repeat: Canine deaths in shelters are up 27% from last year and 78% from 2021. If you’re in the C-suite or a decision maker for RTO you can make a donation to Rain or Shine Rescue rescue here: https://lnkd.in/eh-SKpwu Please like, share, comment for reach. #rescue #shelter #dogs #foster #adoptdontshop

Desexing your pet benefits not just them, but the entire animal community. By preventing unwanted litters, you help reduce pet homelessness and shelter overcrowding. Together, let's create a happier, healthier future for all animals! Learn more about responsible pet ownership: https://lnkd.in/gUQRbTXk #DesexingMatters #ResponsiblePetOwnership #SugarlandAnimalHospital

For reach and adoption!!

According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.1 million dogs enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. It is estimated that around 10-20% of adopted pets are returned to shelters. This means that potentially between 310,000 and 620,000 dogs might be returned to shelters annually. Dog training plays a critical role in ensuring that adopted dogs remain in their new homes. By addressing behavioral issues and providing ongoing support, training helps to build a strong bond between the dog and the owner, reducing the likelihood of the dog being returned to a shelter. Investing in training resources and programs can lead to higher retention rates and better outcomes for both dogs and their families.

This might be controversial, but every time you feel guilty about leaving that sad-looking hamster or fish at your local pet store, the kindest thing you can do is actually not buy them! 🥺🙏 Buying these animals creates a demand for more to be bred and sold, which supports the cycle of poor treatment and neglect. 👎 Instead, please consider adopting from a shelter or rescue instead (yes, you can find small animals at shelters/rescues!) 🩷 Do you agree with us? 💭 • • • • #vegancontent #vegansofig #veganfriendly #petsmart #petco #petsmartanimals #petcoanimals

The data showing that 1 out of 3 pets are homeless hit me especially hard this week as my sweet baby rescue pup just crossed the rainbow bridge. In the rescue community, there is a common phrase "who rescued who," which was infinitely true in my case with how much love and joy my little guy brought to us. He was rescued off of the streets of LA (which had a high kill rate at the time due to the number of pets in shelters) and transported by rescue organizations to Seattle, where I met him at an adoption fair. It is easy to get discouraged when working in animal rescue, but being able to understand the facts and data to address pet homelessness at a large scale is immensely motivating. The three main causes are: 1) Pet–friendly housing limitations: Almost 1 in 5 people that are considering giving up their cat or dog in the near future say it’s because they are moving and cannot take their pet with them. And almost half of those who have re-homed a pet in the past did so for that reason. 2) Pet ownership challenges: Globally, around 15% of pet owners are considering giving up their pet in the next 12 months.  A number of factors contribute, with personal health and fitness challenges to still be able to care for a pet being the number one reason globally, housing related factors coming second, and time pressure to be able to look after a pet being the third most common reason. Other factors like behavior, family allergies and cost also appear in the data. 3) Stemming homeless population increase: A surprising number of people lose their pet, and often don’t get reunited. Almost half of people surveyed said they had lost a pet in the past, and of those almost 60% were never found by their owners.  Globally, pet owners report that only ~50% of owned dogs and ~60% of cats are sterilized, meaning the remainder, if allowed to reproduce unchecked, can result in unplanned litters, exacerbating the problem.  Understanding the causes helps us address the causes vs. the symptoms. Very proud that Mars is engaged and leading this work (along with the amazing work that Mars Veterinary Health does for the pets once you have them). 🐕 🐶 🐈 ❤️ #proudlymars #adoptdontshop #whorescuedwho #doggyrescue #animalrescue #abetterworldforpets #pawsitiveinfluence Humane Society International Angels Among Us Pet Rescue

Thank you Loic Moutault and Jeffrey Flocken for the Mars State Of Homelessness Project. As an animal mad household and FMCG person, it is very close to my heart. In fact, I sponsor the brilliant Niall Harbison at HappyDoggo.com fixing the global street dog problem and … today ‘Bee’ and ‘Siren’ two rescued kittens from Dubai with sight problems are joining our family thanks to the power of the equally brilliant Gita and Rowena West (Zebratini). You’ll be glad to hear they’re Royal Canin kitties! 🐈⬛ 🐈 🗞️ For Cat and Dog mums and dads everywhere: Luq Niazi, Colm O'Brien, Yagnesh (Yagi) Odhavji, Antoine P., Alex Bauer, Lesley Salmon, John Bennett, Kate Jones, Chris Norris, Andrea Parry-Clarke, John Crampton, Liz Tinlin, Petrina Needham, Elizabeth Mircica, Natalie Johnson … The global pet care market is fascinating. I love it. From $208billion in 2020 to $223billion in 2021 and projected to grow to $326billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 5.6%. It is a vibrant sector, with start-ups like Bella & Duke (subscription raw food), Tractive (which we use to track our naughty Airedales), Tailwise (responsible breeding) or BorrowMyDoggy (kinda self explanatory), the sector is dominated by the Big Three including Mars and their premium Royal Canin business. Within the pet category, the fastest growing areas are services (like grooming or veterinary which Mars are sensibly growing) and supplements (with CBD the fastest (if you meet ‪Charlie-Girl-“Rat-Dog”, you’ll understand)). More: https://lnkd.in/eUZDrdGe, https://lnkd.in/epfC9jds IBM is proud to work extensively with the world’s leading pet food companies running their e-commerce, supporting their data, providing AI, analytics and insight, driving their business processes enabled by salesforce and SAP and more. #YouCantBeWhatYouCantSee #FMCG #ConsumerGoods #Retail #RethinkRetail #RethinkRetailTopExpert IBM RETHINK Retail #ABetterWorldForPets