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St. Mary's County shelter reports rise in intakes, live-release rate near no-kill threshold
Summary
Shelter staff told the Animal Control Advisory Board that intakes rose 55.8% compared with the same period last year, driving more outcomes and an 88.62% live-release rate; staff and volunteers are pressing outreach, foster, and medical strategies to lower euthanasia and meet grant benchmarks.
The St. Mary's County Animal Services Division reported a sharp increase in intakes and faster average departures for animals during a board update May 7. "From March 5 to May 6, we had 247 owner surrenders ... for a total of 419 animals," Animal Services Division Manager Hollis Lampe said, and added the shelter currently had 73 animals in care.
Why it matters: the shelter's live-release rate during that period was 88.62%, an improvement from 83.86% in the same period in 2024, but still below the 90% commonly used to signal ‘low- or no-kill’ status. Lampe and volunteers told the board that the county is close to, but has not yet reached, the threshold agencies and funders use to judge some grant success.
Lampe gave the intake and outcomes detail: 247 owner surrenders, 4 returned adopted animals, 10 seized or in protective custody, 32 strays, 19 transfers in from coalition…
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