Pet adoptions, volunteer shifts, and community outreach at Regional Animal Services came to a screeching halt in March 2020 when coronavirus first emerged in King County. Our region, and the world, continued to look for the “next normal” in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic persisted into a second year. Despite the extraordinary challenges of operating in a global pandemic, RASKC still succeeded in its mission to help people and pets last year, and our annual stats bear that out.

• In 2021, RASKC took in 4,590 animals – close to the five-year average for our agency.
• 2,732 pets found new homes in 2021, slightly below the five-year average but still about 200 more than 2020. In addition, we worked with our animal welfare partners across the state to transfer and find homes for another 581 animals.
• 723 stray pets were redeemed by their owners, also about average for RASKC.
• The average length of stay at the Pet Adoption Center was just 5.9 days last year, well below the five-year average.
• 3,582 animals were spayed or neutered in 2021, above average for the last five years.
• 104,135 dogs and cats were licensed with RASKC in 2021.
• Our animal control officers responded to 5,038 calls for service last year, or about 14 calls per day.

You can find more numbers from 2021 in the Detailed Annual Overview on our website. For a quick look at our numbers each month, see our Stats at a Glance. Those charts are typically updated a few days after a month ends.