Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallOutdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchNo-kill is a goal: saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved. The 90% figure is a measuring stick for that goal, not the goal itself. Best Friends Animal Society uses a save rate of at least 90%, calculated over a consecutive 12-month period, as the benchmark for its no-kill designation. Because “save rate” has a specific formula and other publishers use different ones, a shelter’s percentage only means something when you know how it was calculated.
What “no-kill” means
The term describes a principle rather than a single statistic. Best Friends Animal Society describes it as saving every dog or cat in a shelter who can be saved. The phrase “can be saved” carries most of the weight, and organizations do not always draw that line in the same place. That is why the principle needs a measurable proxy, and why the proxy needs its own explanation.
Where the 90% threshold comes from
Best Friends says a total save rate of 90% is a practical way to track progress:
“A total save rate of 90% for all animals in a shelter system is a simple, effective method for measuring a shelter’s progress toward no-kill.”
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.#1 Best Overall
— Best Friends Animal Society, No-Kill FAQ
Its reasoning is that animals with irremediable medical or behavioral conditions that prevent rehoming typically make up no more than 10% of shelter entries. That is Best Friends’ rationale for the threshold, not an independently established universal rule. Its methodology pages do not document when or why the 90% figure was first adopted, so no origin story is offered here.
How Best Friends calculates the save rate
Best Friends’ designation rule has three parts: the threshold, the time window, and the formula.
Rank #2
- Threshold: at least 90% save rate.
- Window: the rate is measured in aggregate over a consecutive 12-month period, and must be reached and maintained. A shelter can meet the annual threshold even if some individual months fall below 90%.
- Formula: (live intakes − non-live outcomes) ÷ live intakes
Non-live outcomes include three categories:
- euthanasia
- death in care
- animals lost in care
Best Friends also counts owner-requested euthanasia in both intake and non-live outcomes, subject to a clinic-services exception in its methodology. Check the current methodology before applying that rule to a shelter’s numbers, because it changes what the percentage includes.
Save rate and live release rate are different measures
Shelter Animals Count, which publishes national shelter data, separates two metrics that are often used interchangeably:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches| Feature | Save rate | Live release rate |
|---|---|---|
| Basic definition | Share of animals entering an organization who do not leave through a non-live outcome | Live outcomes divided by total outcomes |
| Denominator | Intake (animals entering) | Total outcomes (animals leaving) |
| Source of definition | Shelter Animals Count, Animal Welfare Glossary | Shelter Animals Count, Animal Welfare Glossary |
Because the denominators differ, the two measures can produce different percentages for the same organization over the same period. A percentage without its formula is incomplete, so name the metric every time you cite one.
What the 90% benchmark does not tell you
The benchmark is a useful indicator inside a defined method. It is not a full account of a shelter’s work, and it has three specific limits.
- It records outcomes, not causes. A non-live outcome is counted the same way whatever the medical or behavioral circumstances behind it.
- It does not automatically reflect the population served. Best Friends acknowledges that some shelters following no-kill principles can fall below 90%, particularly where their work focuses on animals who are harder to save. A shelter below the threshold may contact Best Friends to explain its circumstances.
- It is not the only measure of success. Shelter Animals Count recommends measuring live outcomes at the community level rather than analyzing a single shelter in isolation.
Shelter Animals Count states it directly:
“The following definitions are metrics that are just one part of assessing outcomes and should not be used as the sole measure of success.”
— Shelter Animals Count, Animal Welfare Glossary, Outcomes section
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Best Value
Current national figures and how to read them
Three recent national figures are often cited together. They come from two separate publications with different data definitions and estimation methods, so they should be read individually.
| Figure | Value | Publisher and scope | Date and status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cats and dogs entering U.S. shelters and rescues | 5.8 million | Shelter Animals Count national report; the publisher describes this as its estimate | Calendar year 2025, reported in its 2026 report |
| Dogs and cats with a non-live outcome | 757,000 | Shelter Animals Count national report; includes shelter euthanasia, animals who died in care, and animals lost in care | Calendar year 2025, reported in its 2026 report |
| U.S. save rate | 82.5% | Best Friends Animal Society shelter data page, reported as that page’s current national figure | Page accessed in 2026; the page’s data and estimates may change |
A national total describes the system as a whole. It is not any individual shelter’s save rate, and it should not be combined with figures from another publisher to produce a new percentage.
How to compare two shelters fairly
Before drawing a conclusion from two published percentages, check these five points:
- Metric and formula: Is the figure a save rate (intake denominator) or a live release rate (outcome denominator)?
- Time period: Best Friends uses an aggregate 12-month window. Another publisher may report a different interval, so align the periods before comparing.
- Animals and categories: Confirm which species are included, how intake categories are defined, how owner-requested euthanasia is handled, and whether clinic services are separated from shelter operations.
- Transfers: Transfers can change shelter-level outcomes and can double-count community outcomes if handled inconsistently. Shelter Animals Count defines community live outcomes by excluding transfers out.
- Population served: A shelter that takes in more animals who are harder to save may face circumstances that warrant special consideration, as Best Friends itself acknowledges.
Tracking admissions and outcomes in a shelter
Shelters that want to calculate these measures from their own records can connect their management systems to Shelter Animals Count through opt-in live API connections. Shelter Animals Count lists PetPoint, Shelterluv, Shelter Manager, Petstablished, and Animals First. A connection is a data-sharing option; it does not indicate that any vendor endorses the no-kill benchmark. Before relying on a system’s reports, confirm that its intake and outcome categories match the formula you are using.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
