It’s been a challenging year for animal shelters and rescue organizations across the country. Lifesaving gains made during the COVID pandemic seemed to disappear for many as a new set of external factors played havoc with the animal welfare industry. Those lifesaving gains certainly seemed to disappear, but did they? Anecdotal stories from scores of individual organizations say some version of the same thing; that intake is up, and positive outcomes are down. Many say that adopters are simply not coming into their facilities as they have in the past, and there are more requests for help with pet relinquishment than ever. But what does the data show?This week we hear from the Senior Director of Lifesaving Programs at Best Friends, Brent Toellner. He analyzed the numbers from hundreds of organizations to put our current reality in perspective. For more resources related to this topic and others discussed this week, check out the website: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-135Check out Brent's editorial that has the numbers and more details talked about in today's episode: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/editorials/reality-todays-shelter-strugglesThe next Best Friends National Adoption weekend is happening December 9th through the 11th, and the registration period is closing soon. Get your organization registered right now: https://network.bestfriends.org/join-us/events/best-friends-national-adoption-eventShare your experience with us! Is your intake up or down? What about your adoptions, are folks still coming in to find their next pet? Send us an email: podcast@bestfriends.org