Our animal shelters are in crisis.
In 2024, a staggering 6 million dogs and cats entered our city and county animal shelters nationwide. With kennels overflowing, animals lined the hallways in pop-up crates with little attention from shelter staff due to the overwhelming number of lives who need help. Despite shelter adoptions and rescue efforts, there is simply not enough help to save them all. Consequently and heartbreakingly, over one million happy, healthy, and/or treatable animals were euthanized in 2024 due to space constraints. One life is lost every 30 seconds. This is an unacceptable reality for our country’s beloved dogs and cats and as we enter 2025, statistics remain distressingly unchanged.
We need to reevaluate our approach to saving lives.
There is reason for hope. The primary reason for shelter intake originates from accidental pregnancies and unplanned litters. Many families across the country face financial challenges when it comes to fixing their pets, and unexpected pregnancies can occur rapidly and at a young age. The tragic consequence is tens of thousands of unwanted offspring are brought into the world each year, only to end up in already-overwhelmed animal shelters. This is precisely where we must focus our efforts to solve our shelter crisis. It is imperative that we make spaying and neutering a normal practice for every family and provide low-cost resources for sterilization to families who need help.
A proven solution begging for attention.
Access to affordable spay and neuter services is widely recognized as the most cost effective and impactful method for reducing shelter intake and euthanasia since the 1970s. This approach has contributed significantly to the decline in animal lives lost each year, from 13 million in the 1970s to 1 million in 2024. By sterilizing just one cat or dog, we can prevent the birth of thousands more down the line, breaking the cycle.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant setback in the availability of low-cost spay and neuter clinics and veterinary costs continued to rise nationwide simultaneously. As a result, we are now facing a substantial backlog of pets and their families who urgently need access to affordable sterilization services. Animal welfare leaders unanimously acknowledge that implementing low-cost spay and neuter programs is the most critical step to saving lives each year.
Call to Action!
The Angels for Angels Foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity with a mission to end shelter euthanasia in the United States. We are addressing the core of this issue by creating access to low-cost spay and neuter services in communities that face significant pet overpopulation challenges, as indicated by high shelter intake and euthanasia rates. Our work is made possible through the generosity and dedication of private donors and local businesses who share our vision of bringing these vital services to underserved areas.
Collaboration is fundamental to our organization's approach. We form partnerships with existing high-volume spay and neuter organizations to bolster their efforts and amplify our collective impact. We also work closely with veterinarians who believe in supporting this mission and influential leaders in the animal rescue community who recognize the importance of this strategy in overcoming our shelter crisis. We firmly believe that a "better together" approach is essential for swiftly and effectively addressing spay and neuter access.
With the support of our committed donors, we have already achieved remarkable results! We began our operations in the second half of 2024 and we fixed over 700 animals in both rural Colorado and Los Angeles. In 2025, we aim to fix 5,000 animals and prevent thousands more from entering animal shelters or suffering on the street in years to come. With your continued support, we can create real change in our animal shelters and end this crisis. After all, humans created this problem – and together, we possess the power and responsibility to solve it.