Best Friends Animal Society, a leading animal welfare organization based in Kanab, Utah, announced earlier this summer that Connecticut ranks fifth in the country for shelter pet lifesaving based on its annual report.

According to a Best Friends press release, the dataset “gives a national overview of the number of dogs and cats that enter and exit shelters each year. It also includes a state-by-state no-kill priority ranking of which Connecticut is number five for pet lifesaving.”

The organization used a “save rate” metric to measure shelter lifesaving.

“A 90% save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered ‘no-kill,’ factoring that approximately 10% of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia rather than killing for other reasons, such as lack of space. In 2020, 14,423 dogs and cats entered Connecticut shelters and 13,267 were saved, giving the state an aggregate save rate of 91.99%,” the press release stated.

However, since every brick-and-mortar shelter serving and/or located within Connecticut does not have a save rate of 90% or higher, it is still not considered a no-kill state.

The only states in the country to have that title are Delaware and New Hampshire.

To learn about each state’s specific ranking, Best Friends has created an interactive map that can be accessed by visiting ww2.bestfriends.org/no-kill-2025/animal-shelter-statistics.

Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, said that overall, “This was a monumental year for cats and dogs in America’s shelters. We saw communities, shelters, and individuals step up for animals in ways we couldn’t have imagined, and now we are closer than ever before to achieving our goal of no-kill [throughout the country] by 2025.”

Newtown’s Impact

Newtown Animal Control Officer Carolee Mason says Newtown has been a no-kill shelter for more than a decade.

It transitioned to one thanks to the help of Canine Advocates of Newtown, Inc, a local group whose mission was to preserve the lives of all the animals temporarily housed at the Newtown Municipal Shelter, now known as the Brian J. Silverlieb Animal Care and Control Center.

Mason says that the animals are the ones who receive the biggest benefit from the shelter being a no-kill facility.

Over the years, the policy has saved the lives of about a dozen dogs who were deemed unsuitable for placement (reasons can include exhibiting biting behavior).

At many shelters, without enough kennel space or staff members, these dogs might been euthanized right away; but because they were under the care of the Newtown Animal Control Center, they had a chance to live. The dogs became permanent shelter dogs and were able to live out their lives comfortably, receiving food, medication attention, socialization, and behavioral training.

Being a no-kill shelter has also allowed the Newtown Animal Control Center to assist communities with a high daily intake of animals, such as Bridgeport and Hartford, from time to time with special cases.

“They don’t have the staff and it’s very sad, it really is,” Mason said. “Newtown should be very proud of itself, because we have a beautiful shelter and are able to do what we can.”

Newtown has been able to adopt out a steady flow of animals, which fluctuates monthly based on their intake of animals.

Mason says she does not measure the success by the number of animals that are adopted, but by the ability to take a dog that came in with fear aggression and rehabilitate it.

“It’s very rewarding to me when I can take a dog that’s difficult and turn it around and get it adopted,” she said.

The Newtown Animal Control Center is very appreciative of the community’s generous support for the shelter and its animals. It currently has extra pet food available in its pantry that can be given to those in need.

Mason explained, “If anybody needs cat food or dog food during hard times, we have plenty... We give it out to people who are having a hard time buying dog [and cat] food.”

Those interested in receiving pet food assistance can contact the Newtown Animal Control Center at 203-426-6900.

To stay up to date with the Newtown Animal Control Center and its adoptable animals, follow the group on Facebook at facebook.com/newtownanimalcontrolshelter.

For more information about Best Friends Animal Society, visit bestfriends.org.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.