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This article was published 6/6/2017 (1207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The number of dogs euthanized by Animal Services in Winnipeg has dropped over 90 per cent in the last eight years — from 359 in 2008 to just 28 last year, a decline one city councillor described as "striking".

And in the last four years alone, the number of animal euthanizations at the Winnipeg Humane Society has fallen over 33 per cent.

Winnipeg Animal Services CEO Leland Gordon said the sharp decline is evidence of a new era in the city when it comes to lost pets.

"That's an unbelievable statistic," Gordon said. "The days of having a nice, healthy dog that has no problems being euthanized in animal services are over."

What happened? First, Gordon said department's use of social media has been key to reuniting pet owners and their animals. Animal Services has its own Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts (@wpgpoundpups), which are all managed by volunteers, therefore at no cost to the city.

Two other websites, petfinder.com and Winnipeg Lost Dog Alert, have also played a factor, he added.

At the same time, Gordon noted the city's 311 hotline now helps reunite about 600 pet owners with their lost animals each year — without animal services needing to get involved.

"So it's working," Gordon said. "That's a lot less animals going into shelters."

Meanwhile, the department has also aggressively promoted adoption via the same social media platforms. Dogs in search of a home are even featured on the City of Winnipeg's home page.

Councillor Brian Mayes, a member of the Innovation Committee which oversees Animal Services, described the latest statistics as "striking".

The reduction in euthanizations since the 359 in 2008 are as follows: 134 in 2010, 91 in 2012, 52 in 2014 to 28 in 2016.

"The decline is so big," Mayes said. "To go less than a 10th of when it (euthanization) used to be eight years ago."

At the same time, the number of dogs taken in by the shelter has fallen from 1,514 in 2008 to 973 last year.

Gordon said the city's licensing policies for dogs and cats have helped raise awareness, too. The number of dogs now licensed by the end of 2016 was just over 54,500 — representing about 50 percent of the total canine population in Winnipeg.

That number needs to be higher, Gordon said, but still represents the largest percentage of dogs to date.

"That means more people are protecting their pets," he said. "And when I think when people start thinking about licensing they also think about responsible pet ownership."

The Winnipeg Humane Society has also experienced a significant drop in animal euthanizations, although for slightly different reasons.

The WHS put down 1,891 animals (1,466 cats) in 2016, compared to 2,876 (2,465 cats) in 2013. While the biggest factor in the decline is a change of policy where cats with upper respiratory infections aren't euthanized immediately, the role of social media has aided in increasing adoptions over the same time period, according to Humane Society CEO Javier Schwersensky.

The number of animals adopted by the organization jumped from 3,666 in 2013 to 4,389 last year, with a peak of 4,607 in 2015 (a WHS record).

"I can tell you without a doubt that social media helps tremendously... particularly with cats," Schwersensky said. "You can showcase the animals, you can do promotions. People are able to post (a lost pet) quickly. We ask them to send us a picture and we put it on-line. It's a win-win (for the shelter and pet owner)."

Both Schwersensky and Gordon cited another societal change for the rising number of adoptions and lower euthanizations: The trend to acquire pets from shelters as opposed to breeders. "That is critical," Schwersensky said.

Even those cats with upper-respiratory infections (commonly called a "kitty cough") are being adopted.

"The question was would the community be willing to adopt the cat knowing the cat had the virus....and the answer has been, 'Yes'," Schwersensky said. "And social media plays a big role in reaching out to these people."

Gordon added that Animal Services staff and volunteers will continue promoting responsible ownership at events from World of Wheels to schools to dog parks, including 30 this year alone. The combined efforts of the shelter community, he said, are starting to reap dividends in Winnipeg.

"That was a hard thing, knowing how many dogs were getting euthanized (back in 2008)," said Gordon, of the first year he began volunteering at Animal Services, before taking over the following year. "The happiest things we have here is when people get their pets reunited with them, and when we adopt out dogs and they have a second chance at life.

"I remember when I started (at the city shelter) we'd be overflowing. We would have dogs in our garage, we would have dogs in crates. And we were doing everything we could to save as many as possible.

"We're very lucky to have a community that's accepting the progressive stuff that we're doing, that's working with us and adopting animals," he added. "So we're living in a city right now with a population of 800,000 or 900,000 people and the animal control shelter run by the city of Winnipeg only euthanized 28 dogs last year."

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @randyturner15