they can ’ t work together . They compete ; they conflict ; they present confusing directives to legislators . It ’ s internecine fighting .”
That may be a function of changes in the way pets move in and out of homes . According to the American Veterinary Medical Association , 6 percent of dogs were purchased at pet stores ; 28 percent were acquired through a shelter or rescue — organizations without facilities that foster unwanted animals until adoption . Each year , an estimated six to eight million dogs and cats in the United States enter 13,500 sheltering organizations . In Rhode Island , most pets are acquired from the thirty municipal pounds , nine brick-andmortar private , nonprofit animal shelters and about seventy-five rescues ; only a handful of pet stores sell dogs and cats .
The late Dr . Ernest J . Finocchio , who served as president of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , told us in 2016 , “ There are so many shelters in this small state , it ’ s ridiculous . There needs to be consolidation and reciprocity . Alone there is little we can do . Together there is nothing we cannot do to adopt out animals .”
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“ Rhode Island has an amazing richness of animal welfare resources . The problem is , they can ’ t work together . They compete ; they conflict ; they present confusing directives to legislators . It ’ s internecine fighting .”
By most accounts , though , the state is managing the dog population adequately . In 2014 , the state ’ s pounds and shelters took in 4,846 dogs . ( The number of dogs brought in from unregistered rescue organizations is unknown .) Of those totals , about 15 percent were euthanized because of advanced illness or behavioral problems that made them unadoptable , but not for lack of space . Shelters are not at capacity .
“ Everyone ’ s numbers are going down ,” says Carmine DiCenso , then-executive director of the Providence Animal Rescue League . “ If you compare New England ’ s numbers with the rest of the country , our numbers are lower and going down , because of better laws , better compliance
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