More than ever, the need exists to mitigate Economic Euthanasia (EE) dramatically. Millions of domestic companion animals and treasured pets are put to death every year and nearly 70% of them are due to Economic Euthanasia. EE is a sad reality for veterinary medicine and animal rescue organizations. EE occurs primarily on two fronts: Institutional Economic Euthanasia, in which animal-serving organizations make life-and-death choices based on organizational resources, and Individual EE, in which individual pet guardians choose euthanization based on the costs of veterinary care versus their cost of living.

As of 2023, 65.1 million U.S. households cared for a dog, followed by cats in 46.5 million households. In the U.S., American Humane estimates that 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter American animal shelters are euthanized. According to a study from the Canadian Veterinary Journal, however, just 19% of dogs and 40% of cats were euthanized in Canadian shelters.

When it comes to caring for animals in need and building a compassionate community, it truly does take a village. And, Treasured Pets lives in a great village to conduct its operations!

In Treasured Pets' home state, 56% of Florida households own a pet — 39.8% of Florida households own a dog and 24.2% own a cat. WalletHub named Tampa Florida the #1 most pet-friendly city in America in 2020. According to Statista, Florida is home to two of the top three friendliest cities in the country for pets — those cities are Tampa and St. Petersburg. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are an estimated 12.5 million pet guardians in Florida with 5 million households caring for at least one pet. A Forbes Advisor survey of 10,000 dog owners found that Florida tops the list of states with the most spoiled dogs.

We at Treasured Pets have a difficult time knowing that, in any given year, millions of our animal family members will be euthanized based principally or exclusively on economics! We ask the question, "Would we euthanize our human family members, for any reason let alone money?"

A new study by the University of Florida revealed that the state’s animal shelters struggled to hang on to years of lifesaving progress during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Florida Shelters admitted 357,418 animals — 205,072 cats and 152,346 dogs. Shelter admissions of free-roaming animals and former pets surged by more than 36,000 cats and dogs in 2021, an increase of 11% over the previous year. Euthanasia of cats increased for the first time since the Shelter Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine began reporting statewide data in 2013.

Both Institutional and Individual Economic Euthanasia are on the rise, and something must be done to stem the increase and reduce this inexcusable trend!