Extraordinary 2022 Features St. Tammany Parish Animal Services Among Louisiana’s Best Shelters
President Mike Cooper has announced that the Department of Animal Services is among the top open-admission animal shelters in Louisiana, following another year of monumental achievements.
"These results showcase the dedication and hard work of our Animal Services team and its’ volunteers, as well as the selflessness of our community partners and citizens who step up and foster and adopt,” said President Cooper. “I made a commitment to allocate resources and improve the services offered at our shelter, which will save the lives of the pets in our community. Please join me in congratulating all who helped make our Animal Services Department one of the top open-admission shelters in Louisiana in 2022.”
Most notably, Animal Services has maintained a 97% live release rate, which is among the highest in the state for open-admission shelters, for a second consecutive year, which designates the shelter as ‘no-kill.’ In comparison, Animal Services had a 55% live release rate in 2019, prior to President Cooper taking office.
“Our improvements would not have been possible without the determination of our staff, community partners, volunteers and citizens who help save the lives of our community’s pets,” said Robert Bremer, Director of Animal Services. “I am incredibly proud of our accomplishments, which prove that the Department of Animal Services is one of the leaders of Louisiana’s open-admission shelters.”
In 2022, Animal Services welcomed approximately 4,000 animals and helped find homes for 1,021 pets through adoption. Nearly 1,300 animals found homes in other communities nationwide through rescue transfers.
The following statistics are in comparison to 2019, which features remarkable improvements:
- Average length of stay for dogs – 23 days, down from 40 days.
- Average length of stay for cats – 26 days, down from 37 days.
- Average monthly population for dogs – 118, down from 207.
- Average monthly population for cats – 191, down from 245.
- Animal control emergency response time – 30 minutes, down from 45 minutes.
- Animal control non-emergency response time – 23 hours, down from 3.5 days.
- Animals in cruelty cases – 81, up from 5.
In 2022, under the guidance of Animal Services leadership, the Parish Council adopted the ‘Community Cat Ordinance,’ which allows staff to catch, neuter and release feral cats to control population. Animal Services administration was invited to speak at the Best Friends Animal Society, a national leader in the no-kill movement, annual conference in 2022 to discuss successes in the Community Cat Ordinance.
In 2022, the Department of Animal Services was also honored with the Touchstone Award from Best Friends based on national shelter data and work from 2021.
Animal Services provides a friendly, safe and clean facility for stray animals and unwanted pets. The shelter offers a wide array of animals for adoption throughout the year, from cats and dogs, to horses and pigs. Adoption hours at the Animal Services Shelter are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Our Animal Services shelter has transformed into a happy respite and transfer station where animals transition to their ‘fur’ever homes.