All government-run animal shelters in Georgia must submit a monthly report to GDA of animal intakes and outcomes. This report lists how many dogs and cats entered and left the shelter. Reporting is required by the Animal Protection Act, Rule 40-13-13-.04(1)(h).
GDA provides a full online export of data submitted to the reporting system. This export covers June 2020 to the last full month reported. See the latest export as of December 15, 2024.
For Shelters
You must submit your reports for each month by the 10th of the following month. To enter your report, go to our online reporting application. If you have questions about submitting your report, contact CAECompliance@agr.georgia.gov.
For Other Interested Parties
If you have questions about the data provided, you can contact us at CAECompliance@agr.georgia.gov. If you are looking for information not contained in the data export, please contact individual shelters. GDA does not maintain information beyond that provided in the download above.
Definitions: Report Fields
- Beginning Animal Counts: The current physical animal count in the shelter and in foster homes.
- Intake
- Stray/at large: Stated to be unowned or free-roaming.
- Relinquished by owner: Admitted by owner, including adoption returns. All returns should be tracked as owner relinquishment.
- Owner Intended euthanasia: Limited to this definition: Admission of pets whose owner brought the pet to the shelter with the INTENT of requesting euthanasia.
- Transferred in from agency: An admission from another agency, for adoption, large scale seizure support, etc.
- Other intakes: Impounds for cruelty cases & protective custody. Also, pets born while in care, and other types of admission not captured above.
- Outcomes
- Adoption: Final adoptions only, having permanently left the agency's possession. For example, it does NOT include animals placed in foster care or on overnight 'trial' stays.
- Returned to owner: Stray or Owner Relinquished animals returned to their owner.
- Transferred to another agency: Transferred out of the agency's possession to another entity.
- Returned to field: Animals included in intake, altered and returned to stray capture location to be released. This is not allowed in Georgia.
- Other live outcome: Barn cat programs, etc.
- Died in care: Animals who die, unassisted, while sheltered.
- Lost in care: Animals whose outcome is unknown (may have escaped the shelter, outcome was not recorded and unknown).
- Shelter euthanasia: All euthanasia other than that performed by the definition below as owner-intended euthanasia.
- Owner-intended euthanasia: Limited to this definition: Euthanasia of pets whose owner brought the pet to the shelter with the INTENT of utilizing euthanasia services.
Definitions: Specific Terms
Live Admissions Only
For the purposes of this report we are tracking LIVE admissions only, i.e. animals who are alive when they come into an agency's possession. Animals that are dead when taken into an agency's possession may be a data point to track, but that information is not tracked by this matrix.
What is Owner-Intended Euthanasia?
Some shelters offer pet euthanasia to the public as a service whose cost may be subsidized. This service is thus more affordable than at local veterinary clinics, ensuring access to those who could not otherwise afford it. For the purposes of this document, we are choosing to define owner INTENDED euthanasia as the euthanasia of a pet whose owner brought the pet to the shelter for that service. In other words, the owner brought the pet in specifically for that service – it was their intent before arriving.
What is Possession?
"Adoption" and "Transferred to another agency" both refer to possession. The primary concept here is one of ownership. For example, in foster care, the agency still has possession or ownership. If adopted or transferred to another agency, possession is then with the new owner or new agency.