Lubbock Animal Services said Thursday that the area’s animal euthanization rate is at 50 percent this year.
Assistant Director of Animal Services Kia Riemath said this number is an improvement because it was previously at 90 percent.
“We were really excited about that,” Riemath said. “We brought it down from over 90 percent and we think a lot of it has to do with a lot of the fact that a lot of the public is getting more educated.”
Lubbock Animal Services they’ve had 177 injured animals, 1,115 strays brought in by citizens, 2,163 strays, and 1,150 owner surrender animals.
“Our officers brought in over 2,000 strays that are out and about that are unidentified animals,” Riemath said. “When we have those animals in here we need those owners to come in and get them so we don’t have to put them down.”
Riemath said the healthier an animal is, the better chance it has. She added that preventative healthcare will provide the best outcome for that animal.
“It depends, if we have the healthy dogs in here in adoption, once we have room we start filling that and replacing the one that got adopted,” Riemath said. “It depends on how healthy they stay. In that stray open environment it is very difficult to keep them healthy. But if they have their first shots, they have a really good chance.”
Lubbock Animal Services currently works with nine area rescue groups.
To find more information about their services, find them here.
