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Statistics & FAQS

The Humane Society of Berks County is committed to the idea that you can't solve a problem if you don't know exactly what the problem is.  That's why we have led the way in our region by publishing all of our animal statistics, unfiltered and uncensored.  We have made great strides but have far to go.  We need you to help us get there. 

Effective January 1, 2008, the Humane Society of Berks County will be reporting all incoming and outgoing statistics using the reporting protocol established by the Asilomar Accords.  This data will be presented quarterly and compiled at year's end.  Below is the first annual report using the new method.  Because 2007 statistics were compiled differently for most of the year, the Asilomar reporting will not be entirely representative of how the report will appear at the end of 2008.  We have included the HSBC's standard prior reporting matrix, well.  You may also download a PDF file of the Humane Society's Pet Evaluation Matrix, the criteria used for determining how an animal's euthanasia status is tracked and reported.

Read "Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics" to learn about how and why the HSBC decided to publish all its animal data by clicking here.

To download HSBC Pet Evaluation Matrix (PDF),

click here

For complete 2007 statistics (new format, PDF), click here

For complete 2007 statistics (old format, PDF), click here

For complete 2006 statistics (old format, PDF), click here

For complete 2005 statistics (old format, PDF), click here

If you have any questions regarding any of these statistics, please contact Karel Minor, executive director, at 610-921-2348, ext. 10, or kminor@berkshumane.org.

Statistics prior to 1-1-2005 where tabulated by hand, do not match the current electronic tracking format, and are of uncertain accuracy.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: 

Why the HSBC Publishes All Its Data

Benjamin Disraeli is credited with saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  We’ve all seen news reports and television ads claiming something bad is up X% and something good is down Y%, all in very sinister tones.  Yet any statistician will tell you that “facts” like these might be meaningless unless you know a few things: Up or down compared to what?  Over what period of time?  According to whom?  In what context?

The Humane Society of Berks County recently conducted its normal review of our statistics in which we look at our various organizational numbers and compare them to the same period in prior years.  Much of what we found looked great.  While we had a 2% increase in the number of incoming animals when compared to last year, cat and dog adoptions went up 12%.  Owner claims of stray cats and dogs went up 13%.  As the executive director, these are the kind of numbers I want to pick from the mix and announce to the world to show what a great job we are doing.

But the fact is, when I announce one of these successes, I may be only telling half the story.  Shelters all scramble to tell the good news but we rarely give the bad news in the same sentence.  We tell ourselves it’s because you already know the horrible reality of euthanasia in shelters.  Or, that so much of it is “beyond our control”.  We hold detailed statistics close to our vests and often only share them with our staff and our board.  We tell ourselves that you, the public, simply won’t understand or that the numbers won’t be in context.

I believe that is a lie.  It’s a lie shelters tell themselves and it’s a lie shelters tell you.  Shelters tell it because the hard reality, the unacceptable reality, is that open access shelters like ours euthanize millions of potentially adoptable animals each year.  We know we are trying as hard as we can to avoid it, that the public and the government share the blame for the atrocity of numbers we face, and that if we didn’t do it, someone else would, probably far less humanely.  But we also don’t want to have to compound the tragedy we are forced to embrace daily by having to explain it to a public that we don’t give credit for truly understanding the scope of the problem.

The Humane Society of Berks County has decided that we will no longer be complicit in keeping the facts from you.  We are proud of the work we do and we have been making steady strides forward each year.  You not only have the right to know exactly what we are doing on your behalf, you have the obligation to know what animals face right here in your neighborhood.  If people don’t know what is going on, how can we expect them to step forward in righteous indignation and do something about it?

For all of the chest beating about the importance of pets in our society and all the best-selling books about how much this person or that loves their dog, our society is hiding its head in the sand as millions of companion animals die unnecessarily each year on the streets and in animal shelters around this country.  Thousands of those pets will die right here in Berks County.

Effective immediately (4-26-07), the Humane Society of Berks County will post its incoming and outgoing animals statistics on our website.  In 60 to 90 days, the HSBC will have undertaken a complete review of all of our reporting protocols, with the assistance of a panel representing all facets of our community,  and will begin reporting our numbers based upon the format created as part of the Asilomar Accords (click here for details).  This reporting format provides a very simple to understand number: the percentage of animals leaving the HSBC alive.

I have always been adamant about the importance of providing our numbers, in exactly the same format and detail that we provide them to our staff and board, to anyone upon request.  However, even I made sure I talked to the person requesting them to provide “context”.  I must admit, I feel a little queasy about unilaterally publishing our statistics.  I say unilaterally because none of the other open door shelters in Berks County or the region currently provide complete statistics as openly and as readily available as we now do.  While we are all in the business of saving animals, anyone who thinks that shelters are not all seeking to draw from a limited pool of vital resources-- or that some won’t use other shelter’s numbers to their own benefit-- is fooling himself.  But we’re about to open our books for the world, and other organizations, to see.

Someone very close to the HSBC asked me recently, “Why would you do that if you don’t have to?”  My question, and the question I hope you ask, is, “Why doesn’t everyone else do it?”

Mark Twain also had a great quote about statistics. “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.”  So, here goes with some statistics:  In the first quarter of 2007, compared to the first quarter of 2006, the number of animals entering the HSBC increased about 2%, the number of cat and dog adoption increased about 12% and the number of stray owner claims of cats and dogs increased about 13%.  The statistics tell us we’ve made great progress.

The facts:  During the first three months of this year, 1,183 animals of all kinds entered the HSBC.  612 of them were euthanized.  The facts tell us we have a very long way to go.

Now, what are you and I going to do about that?

Karel I. Minor

Executive Director

(April, 2007)

Asilomar Accords Adoption

Blue Ribbon Panel

Dr. Kelly Bendixsen, DVM

HSBC Staff Veterinarian

Kerry Flanagan

Operations Director, Humane League of Lancaster County

Damon March

HSBC Operations Director

Rickee Miller

Acting Director, Pennsylvania Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement

Karel Minor

Executive Director, HSBC

Dr. Lee Pickett, VMD

HSBC Board President

Charlene Wandzilak

Executive Director, Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association

Dr. Heather Westfall, VMD

HSBC Staff Veterinarian

Scott Yoder

HSBC Volunteer