RICHMOND, Va. — 81 Virginia animal shelters were recognized for their no-kill status at a celebration held by Best Friends Animal Society at the State Capitol this morning.
As a whole, Virginia saves 84% of shelter pets, according to Laura Donahue of Best Friends Animal Society. The nationally recognized benchmark to be considered no-kill is 90%.
"The public needs to know how close we are to achieving no-kill in Virginia and how they can help, because we are so close and we are within reach," Donahue said. "But we know that oftentimes people feel on an island in their neighborhood, in their community, sometimes they don't see the progress that's being made collectively. And so this is our momentum year. This is our moonshot year."
Donahue said that if just 0.1% of Virginians choose to adopt, instead of buy from pet stores or breeders, nearly 9,900 pets would be saved and Virginia would become the largest no-kill state in the country.
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