Pet Save Rates: We've Come A Long Way
In 1970, roughly 20 million stray and homeless animals were killed in shelters nationwide, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. By 2011, that number had dropped to 3 million. In 2017, an estimated 1.5 million shelter animals were euthanized.
In King County pet save rates have increased dramatically since 2003
About the shelter
The Seattle Animal Shelter was founded in 1972 to protect public safety and enforce all animal-related ordinances for the City of Seattle. In addition to our primary role, we care for the abandoned, abused and orphaned animals of Seattle. Learn More
Defining "No Kill"
The No Kill Advocacy Center recommends shelter communities to reach a 90% or better live release rate. However, the center stresses that achieving a 90% rate is the start of shelter reform and modernization, not the realization of it. Learn More
Pet Registrations: Campaigns and Partnerships Boost Adoption
The city’s recent progress toward lower kill rates is due in large part to the successful campaigns and partnerships encouraging people to adopt shelter animals and to have their pets neutered, spayed and licensed.
Pet registrations grow rapidly since January 2017
2018 will be a record year
2017
0
PETS LICENSED
2018
0
PETS LICENSED
Are there any daily trends or highlights?
This calendar visualization displays registration events per day from 2015 to 2018. Hover over each cell to see the date and registration count. Tuesdays seem to be popular for pet registration!
Daily registration count, 2015-2018
Where are all of these pets located, and which pets are the most popular?
Dogs are still man’s best friend in Seattle with dogs having a larger share of the pet population. Since our furry friends can be expensive, zip codes with a higher median yearly income tend to have more pets.
Explore the map below to see where different pets are living in the Seattle area in 2018. Animal shelters are noted with a blue marker on the map.
(Click on a zip code for more details)
There are over 47,000 dogs licensed in Seattle, due in part to the city's efforts to have pets adopted and licensed. Many of the dogs are living in the higher income zip codes of northern Seattle.
Cats are concentrated in northern Seattle zip codes, with many living the the higher income areas.
Dogs are the pet of choice, with all zip codes having at least 60% more dogs than cats. Dogs tend to be even more popular in areas in southern Seattle.
The successful adoption campaigns led to an increase in licenses for mixed-breed dogs. In September, the share of adopted mixed-breed dogs jumped significantly over July, increasing from 14% to 25% respectively.
The share of mixed-breed cats adopted in September also jumped significantly over June of that same year, increasing from 27% to 40%, respectively.
Most of the smaller dogs (under 20 lb.) live in the areas around downtown Seattle, while larger dogs are concentrated in the more suburban zip codes.
| Neighborhoods | All |
|---|---|
| All Licensed Pets | 71,296 |
| Total Dogs | 47,388 |
| Percent Mixed-Breed Dogs | 14.3% |
| Median Dog Weight | 38 lb |
| Total Cats | 23,908 |
| Percent Mixed-Breed Cats | 22.1% |
| Population | 849,544 |
| Median Income | $84,262 |
| Median Age | 39.4 |
What are Seattleites naming their pets?
Lucy and Charlie are among the most popular pet names!
Top 25 dog names in Seattle, by percentage
Can you identify the 20 most popular dog breeds in Seattle?
Do you recognize any of the pictured breeds? Click on an image to see if you're correct!
The Top 20 Dog Breeds of Seattle
Click on a photo to get info about that breed, including its rank in popularity in Seattle and how many dogs of that breed are registered each month.