DOGGONE

Although dogs and cats comprise by far the majority of creatures with which county animal shelter officials must deal, they are far from the entire story. From the rather more commonplace to the strange, they include rabbits, birds, opossums, skunks, raccoons, snakes, squirrels, deer, guinea pigs, gophers, coyotes, ducks, rats, tortoises, moles, weasels, monkeys, wallabies, iguanas and ferrets.

When a live animal shows up at an animal shelter and is not claimed by its owner, basically one of two fates awaits: adoption by a new owner or euthanasia. This last step is performed in Orange County by lethal injection.

Here’s how animal adoption and euthanasia compare:

Shelter Disposition Dogs Cats Other Irvine Shelter* Adopted: 243 332 29 15129 Sand Canyon Rd. Euthanized: 28 37 20 Irvine Total: 271 369 49 Laguna Shelter Adopted: 121 87 N/A 20612 Laguna Canyon Rd. Euthanized: 39 100 N/A Laguna Beach Total: 160 187 N/A Newport Beach Shelter Adopted: 429 20 25 121 Mesa Drive Euthanized: 42 123 5 Costa Mesa Total: 471 143 30 Orange County Shelter Adopted: 5,869 2,247 152 561 The City Drive Euthanized: 10,537 10,321 1,810 Orange Total: 16,406 12,568 1,962 San Clemente Shelter Adopted: 601 720 43 100 Avenida Presidio Euthanized: 89 129 24 San Clemente Total: 690 849 67

*July 1988 to March 1989; others are from April 1988 to March 1989

Source: Individual shelters