Every Dog Deserves a Chance to Be a Best Friend

In the United States, it is evident that we truly love our furry canine friends, with nearly 90 million dogs living alongside us. Most lead happy, fulfilled lives with their families, but for far too many, life is a struggle from the beginning.

With over 3.3 million dogs entering shelters and rescues annually, and significant stray populations in many areas of the country, the problem can seem overwhelming. Sadly, upwards of 670,000 dogs are euthanized every year, very often simply for lack of facilities and funding.

While though those numbers can seem staggering, real progress is being made through the tireless efforts of rescue organizations around the country, many operating on a shoestring budget, often staffed primarily by volunteers. Through their work, dogs entering shelters in the U.S. annually has dropped by 600,000 in the last 10 years, with the number of dogs being euthanized annually also down 400,000, from over 1 million in 2011.

Much of this progress can be attributed to an increase in adoptions as well as strays that are successfully returned to their owners through local shelters and rescues. The most recent data showed approximately 1.6 million shelter dogs being adopted each year, and about 620,000 dogs who enter shelters as strays and are returned to their owners.

Roughly 23% of dogs going to new homes are adopted or rescued annually, about 34% are purchased from breeders, and another 32% by other means, reputable or not. Even a small shift in that balance of 5% would result in tens of thousands of lives saved.

That is why we started Fifteen for Fido. We wanted to do something to help the people working so hard to make sure even one dog doesn't fall through the cracks. So we donate 15% of our net profit to rescue organizations providing life-saving assistance to dogs in need. 

Because every dog deserves a chance to be a best friend.