2020 at a Glance

Posted By SLCo Animal Services
December 23, 2020

Salt Lake County Animal Services is the largest, lifesaving (no-kill) municipal shelter in Utah. In 2020, we helped over 11,500 animals. We cared for a variety of pets including: cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, chickens, goats, pigs, reptiles, birds & small mammals.

Salt Lake County Animal Services in 2020:

• 11,500 pets were cared for or received services from Animal Services.
• 3,400 owned pets received food from the Pet Crew Pantry
• 1,850 pets were returned to their owners
• 2,600 pets were adopted or sent to a rescue
• 2,500 pets were spayed/neutered by the on-site clinic
• AND SO MUCH MORE!

As we wrap up 2020, the Staff at Salt Lake County Animal Services want to share some of this years successes with you.

When the pandemic hit, our staff had to adjust to a new way of operating. We broke into smaller teams to ensure that we would always have healthy employees to feed and care for the animals at our shelter and also to continue to respond to animal control calls and emergencies.

At the beginning of the pandemic, some of our staff were reassigned in the county to help the Health Department organize the supplies coming in, that had to be disbursed to the homeless population living in hotels with Covid-19. We also coordinated the care of pets for individuals who we’re suffering from COVID-19 with no other resources. 

Our clinic was mandated to put all non-essential surgeries on hold, including spay/neuter, while they're was a shortage of PPE. But they were still busy caring for sick and injured animals that came to the shelter. In May they had a backlog of several hundred animals that were living in foster-to-adopt homes, that needed to be sterilized.

In April, our staff could see that there was a very real need to help feed the pets in the community. Our team applied for grants and sought out donations to help secure pet food for those who would sacrifice their own meal to feed their pets and their children. We have held 9 Pet Crew Pantries since May.

Thank you to our community who has stepped up to help us throughout the year. The threat of Covid-19 will still be with us in 2021 and we will still be operating on an appointment only basis in the building for the foreseeable future. We appreciate your understanding so we can keep both our staff and the public safe. We also appreciate the unwavering support YOU give which helps us care for the pets in the shelter and throughout our community. 

If you would like to make a year-end donation to help pets that enter the shelter in 2021, please visit our donations page. Or contact jjohanson@slco.org for assistance. 

Thank you,

Staff at Salt Lake County Animal Services