This shocked me when I read this. It made me extremely sad- an made my want to adopt a dog and cat from the shelter even more.

The number of animals put to sleep every year: 4-6 million
The number of animals put to sleep every day: 13,698.63
The number of animals put to sleep every hour: 570.776
The number of animals put to sleep every second:0.15855
Approx. number of animals in shelter: 4,000 to 6,000
Estimated number of animals entering U.S. shelters annually: 8 to 12 million

Numbers are based in 2002.

* I know this has nothing to do with "What kind of dog should I get", but I thought I should share this startling info with Pet Talkers.

I am so grateful for the small amount of non-kill shelters- at least some animals lives are spared. It could be worse-I guess.