Douglas County has a population of 47,000 people and is located on the western border of Nevada. The county seat is Minden, which has 3,000 people. Minden is next to Gardnerville, which has a population of 5700. Minden and Gardnerville are both census-designated areas, and therefore are not listed individually in the right sidebar.
Douglas County Animal Care and Services (aka the Douglas County Animal Shelter (DCAS)) is a municipal agency that does animal control and has a shelter in Gardnerville that serves the county, Gardnerville, and Minden. DCAS distributes pet food to those who cannot afford it. The Douglas Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) is a private organization that works closely with the shelter and provides many services.
When I called DCAS for more information I was told that the shelter has a waiting list for owner surrenders and encourages owners to rehome their pets through social media. DCAS will make an exception to the waiting list for people who cannot continue to care for a pet, but such exceptions are rarely needed. Another aspect of intake management in Douglas County is that cats are considered free roaming. There is an area rescue, the Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation (WARF), that takes in cats, and DCAS and DAWG together fund a TNR program, but community cats are not impounded by DCAS.
The DCAS statistician told me that in 2012 the shelter took in 721 animals. They had 360 adoptions (the adoption figure includes a small number of transfers to rescues) and returned 367 animals to their owners. They euthanized 15 animals, for a live release rate of 98%.
Douglas County, NV, is counted in the Running Totals as a 90%+ community.
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