Have you ever gone to the animal shelter and see an animal and then the next time you go that animal is gone, well either that animal got adopted or it got euthanized.  Animal shelters should not euthanized as many animals as they do.

HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) says that of 1,000 shelters that replied to the National Council's survey, 4.3 million animals were handled.  In 1997 64% of the 2.7 million animals in 1,000 animal shelters were euthanized.  56% of dogs are euthanized and 71% of cats.  It is estimated that approximately 3.7 million animals were euthanized in the nation’s shelters in 2008.  Cats are euthanized more than dogs because cats get out of the house and do not come back but when dogs get out they usually come back. 

Practical solutions for reducing euthanization numbers are. Make sure that your pet wears an identification tags, a rabies license, and a city license.  Make sure that you keep your license current and up to date.  Also consider getting your pet microchipped. 

Why are pets euthanized?  Well sometimes when a shelter gets over crowded they will euthanize an animal that has been their for a long time.  Also if an animal becomes sick, stressed, or exhibits challenging behavior.  If a pet gets out of the house and ends up not getting claimed sometimes they will euthanize them too, only 15.8% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners.

When an animal is really really sick euthanization is more humane.  Please make sure that your pet has identification tags.  If you end up looking for a pet consider looking at the animal shelter, you might be saving a life.

All information found at: americanhumane.org
and
http://m.humanesociety.org/animal_community/resources/qa/common_questions_on_shelters.html#.Uwt21rK9KSM