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Live Release Rate

The Live Release Rate is the percentage of dogs and cats rescued by animal care and control agencies that are successfully reunited or adopted.   For example, in 2005, the Alliance's Save Rate was 72%, which means that 46,319 of the 64,907 dogs and cats that were received by Alliance member shelters were adopted or reunited with their owners.  

The Save Rate of canines and felines was adopted in January 2003 and revised in September 2003, then again in November 2004.   The revision in November 2004 amended the descriptions to conform with the Asilomar Accords and changed Save Rate to Live Release Rate. This formula will be used to determine the percentage of dogs and cats that are successfully released from an organization.   All agencies will report their Live Release Rate using the following method of calculation:

Calculation for an Individual Agency

Adoptions + All Outgoing Transfers + Return to Owner/Guardian divided by Total Outcomes excluding owner/guardian requested euthanasia (unhealthy and untreatable), and dogs and cats that died or were lost in the shelter/care.  

Annual Save Rate = (I + J + K + L) / (T) * 100 = _____%

When reporting the Annual Live Release Rate for an individual agency, you should include the following statement: The Annual Live Release Rate does not include _____ owner/guardian requested euthanasia which were unhealthy & untreatable [see Line R] and _____ dogs and cats that died or were lost in the shelter/care [see Line U].

Calculation for Community or Coalition

Adoptions + Return to Owner/Guardian divided by Total Outcomes excluding all outgoing transfers, owner/guardian requested euthanasia (unhealthy and untreatable), and dogs and cats that died or were lost in the shelter/care.  

Annual Live Release Rate = (I + K + L) / (T - J)* 100 = _____%

When reporting the Annual Live Release Rate for the community or a coalition, you should include the following statement: The Annual Save Rate does not include _____ owner/guardian requested euthanasia which were unhealthy & untreatable [see Line R] and _____ dogs and cats that died or were lost in the shelter/care [see Line U].

Resources

For a list of definitions or to find other forms, please take a look at our "Resources" section.