2022 In Review: The Numbers Are In!

The VHS’ annual infographic is here! We are excited to announce that the VHS reached a 93% save rate in 2022, placing the shelter above the national “no-kill” industry threshold and achieving our highest live release rate to date.

Some Highlights:

• Adoptions slowed down significantly while Intakes remained about the same… which resulted in fuller shelters and longer lengths of stay for the animals. This has been the case for organizations across the United States.

• Despite its challenges, the VHS still achieved its highest live release rate EVER: 93%.

• While according to industry standards we could be considered a "no-kill" shelter, we do not use that term. “No-kill” is a misleading and often overused marketing term in the animal welfare industry that creates divisiveness between organizations who are all working toward the same goals. For more information on that, check out our blog post at vhslifesaver.org entitled, “The No-Kill Myth."

• 669 animals were transferred in, over half of whom came from Evansville Animal Care & Control

• More than 1,000 animals benefited from foster care 

• Our dogs took 43 Saturday walks in the park and 533 weekday trips through our Cardio for Canines and Mutt’s Morning out programs 

• 4,630 children received Humane Education programming 

• Almost 7,000 animals were fixed in 2022, preventing overpopulation, and one of them was our Davidson Rausch Low-Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic’s 100,000th surgery since it opened in 2007!

So what’s next?

• We desperately need people to adopt! The kennels remain full despite our ongoing efforts to promote the animals.

• Become a volunteer or a foster parent! Many hands make light work, and there are hundreds of piles of poop to be scooped!

• Make a gift to help us continue our lifesaving work in 2023: give.vhslifesaver.org