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Shelter Statistics


OC Animal Care reports our statistics on our website because we feel that transparency is an important part of being a public agency. In addition, we want our communities to understand the realities that we face as a shelter and the impact that our citizens can have on increasing adoptions and decreasing euthanasia. OC Animal Care is an "open admission" shelter for 14 cities and the unincorporated areas of Orange County. "Open admission" means that we will accept all animals from the cities that we serve whether they are aggressive, feral, sick, underage or injured.

OC Animal Care's priority is to deliver top-notch and progressive services to our communities and animals. Although we have accomplished a great deal in recent years, we continue to strive to enhance our programs and services. There is still a tremendous amount of work for us to do for the animals and we cannot do it alone. We rely heavily on our adoption partners, foster caretakers and volunteers. In addition, we rely on you, the community to help us achieve our goals. OC Animal Care encourages you to spay/neuter your pets, purchase a license, provide a forever home and come to the shelter to adopt.

How to Read Shelter Statistics 

In our commitment to transparency, OC Animal Care posts quarterly statistics – a practice not universally observed in all shelters. For a clearer perspective on our data, it’s important to note that quarterly statistics stand alone and reflect data available at that time. These statistics are obtained from a live database, which is utilized and updated daily. As a result, there may contain small changes within each of the quarterly statistics overtime.

Annual statistics consider adjustments made throughout the year, ensuring a balanced and comprehensive overview.  The posted statistic that incorporates the entire calendar year is considered the most accurate and most commonly utilized for discussion at OC Animal Care.

2023 Statistics:

In the 2023 2nd  and 3rd Quarter Statistics, an additional line item has been added for animals in foster care. Animals in foster care are excluded from the intake or live release numbers as foster outcomes are not final disposition – meaning they are not the final placement for the animal.

2022 Statistics:

2021 Statistics:

2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 
Click here for previous years' statistics.