Author: monicamosure

Franklin County Dog Shelter Save Rate Declines in 2024-2025

At a time when nearly 2 out of 3 shelters achieved no-kill in 2024, Franklin County Ohio Dog Shelter saw a 3% save rate decline to 72% from 75% the reporting year prior.

With nearly an identical pet intake rate from November 2023 to August 2025, the shelter reported a decrease in the pets saved from September 2024 through August 2025, when compared with data from November 2023 through October 2024.

Best Friends Animal Society Franklin County Dog Shelter 2024-2025 save rate data

Shelter Still Not Reporting Data On Their Site

The data from this year and last year was reported by Best Friends Animal Society through a public records request. Their national database includes shelter statistics across the nation – https://bestfriends.org/no-kill-2025/animal-shelter-statistics.

Our hope through our petition is ask Franklin County Dog Shelter to:

  1. Provide transparency to the community, which includes monthly shelter statistics easily accessible on the Shelter’s website. No community member should have to rely on a national organization’s public records request to obtain data. Not only that, the Shelter has pushed back on community members who have directly requested public records within the last year.
  2. Hold the Dog Shelter Leadership accountable. Year over year, we have seen a decline in the save rate of our shelter. This is a time when other communities are saving more dogs, building a network of trust with volunteers and rescues, and seeing results with lives saved. We recognized the hard work of all at the shelter, however, we see the Shelter leadership lacking the innovation and skills to bring our community to the next level in dog rescue rates.
  3. Provide the community with a strategic plan to improve the shelter’s save rate, and update the community on program implementation, shelter practices changes, and resulting increases in save rates. We believe a lack of actionable strategic planning has led the shelter down a path of falling behind.

Sign Our Petition: Share with Friends and Family

If you love dogs and want to see our community, taxpayer dollars put to good work, sign our petition today at https://www.change.org/p/report-statistics-and-improve-franklin-county-ohio-dog-shelter-s-save-rate?recruiter=56659162&recruited_by_id=67c90210-d035-0130-fab7-3c764e049c64&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard&utm_medium=copylink.

Help Us Save More Rescue Dogs in Franklin County! Sign Our Petition

Help us reach our goal by October 16, 2025, but signing our petition that urges Franklin County Dog shelter commit to transparency and increasing dog save rates at the publicly funded shelter.

Sign, Share, and Make a Difference—Together We Can Give Dogs a Second Chance

Every dog deserves love, safety, and a second chance. Today, you have the power to help make that dream a reality for countless rescue dogs in Franklin County, Ohio. Our community is coming together with a clear mission: to save more dogs and give them the loving homes they deserve. And to do that, we need your support—right now.

Our Goal: Make Their Voices Heard

On October 16, 2025, at 9 am, we will present our petition to the Franklin County Commissioners during their General Session Meeting. This is a critical moment—a chance for our community to stand up and demand more action and compassion for rescue dogs in our area. However, for our voices to be heard, we must demonstrate a strong showing of support from residents throughout Franklin County.

How You Can Help

  • Read the Petition: Take a moment to learn about our cause and why saving rescue dogs matters so much. The petition outlines our hopes, concerns, and proposed solutions.
  • Sign the Petition: If you are a Franklin County resident who believes in saving more rescue dogs, your signature is crucial. Every name brings us one step closer to meaningful change –> sign here: https://www.change.org/p/report-statistics-and-improve-franklin-county-ohio-dog-shelter-s-save-rate
  • Share, Share, Share: Don’t keep this to yourself! Forward this page to your friends, family, neighbors, and fellow animal lovers. Spread the word throughout your community and encourage others to lend their support.
  • Connect on Facebook: Want to stay up to date and help us share our mission far and wide? Visit our Facebook page for updates, stories, and ways to get involved. Sharing on social media can amplify our reach and bring more people together.

Why Now?

Time is ticking, and every day matters. From now until October 16, 2025, our goal is to gather as many signatures as possible from Franklin County residents who believe in giving rescue dogs the second chance they deserve. Whether you’ve adopted a rescue dog yourself, volunteered at a shelter, or simply believe in kindness, your involvement will make a real impact.

Let’s Make a Difference—Together

Imagine a Franklin County where no dog is left behind, where shelters have the support they need, and where every dog finds a loving home. With your help, we can move closer to that vision. Sign the petition today, share it with everyone you know, and help us build a stronger, more compassionate community for our four-legged friends.

With every signature, every share, and every conversation, we’re giving hope. Let’s save more dogs—and let’s do it together.

Franklin County Dog Statistics

A gold standard of any publicly funded shelter is to openly share shelter statistics. In fact, Best Friends Animal Society aggregates national shelter statistics. https://bestfriends.org/no-kill-2025/animal-shelter-statistics for many shelters across the nation, including Ohio.

Unfortunately, the last time Franklin County decided to share these public records was 2023-2024. At that time, the save rate was an abysmal 75%. This means that more the 1,000 dogs could have been saved with better shelter management and programs.

Our community has been concerned. Efforts from citizens requesting these public records have been met with obstruction – refusals without legal cause, untimely request responses, or notes of “lost records.” In fact, actions to collect these records have often come only after legal representation was sought.

Unfortunately, this seems to be an ongoing trend for the shelter. As of 2025, the shelter released a new website that has no link or any mention of shelter statistics.

Our question is simple: What does Franklin County Dog Shelter have to hide? Your community is asking for the statistics so they may support you in developing a plan to improve our save rate. But we also ask that the leadership be held responsible for the continued decline in shelter management.

What we ask from the County:

  1. The shelter immediately updates the website and gives the public access to timely shelter data.
  2. The county responds to all public records requests promptly. It’s the law.
  3. Hold your FCSD leadership accountable. If the director cannot develop a plan and demonstrate improved shelter save rates, it’s time to look to experts and other leaders who can. There are communities all around us that have proven this can be done.

Help us continue to support this chance. Sign our petition and donate to help us support this cause.