The Dallas and Fort Worth city animal shelters reported higher live release rates.
The number reported by Dallas Animal Services this week is a big milestone, as the shelter saved more animals than it euthanized for the first time in many years.
The shelter's live release rate for the 2014-15 fiscal year is at 52 percent. Seven years ago, the rate was at just 19 percent. During that time, the number of adoptions has quadrupled, although the number of animals taken in did drop by about 8,000 in the same time frame.
The non-profit group Dallas Companion Animal Project, which works with the shelter to help end the killing of adoptable animals, said it's a mark that should be celebrated.
"In the last five years the leadership at Dallas Animal Services has moved the dial in the right direction and the City of Dallas should be proud of what they've accomplished," the group stated.
The success for Dallas has continued into this calendar year as the live release rate for the first two months of 2016 has been above 70 percent.
In Fort Worth, numbers released by an animal control task force, show the shelter's live release rate for 2015 was 77 percent. In 2005, the rate was just 22 percent.
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The task force did make several recommendations on improving services. The city council will vote on those changes in April.
