How to Use Shelter Animals Count (SAC) Dashboards for Reports

Starting in Fiscal Year 2027 (beginning in July 2026), Multnomah County Animal Services publishes official reports every three months (quarterly) instead of every month.

To see ongoing monthly data or comparisons, you can view it anytime using available Shelter Animals Count (SAC) dashboards. Their online dashboards show details about animals coming into our shelter (intakes) and where they go (outcomes), which you can filter by species, or compare to other time periods.

View the Shelter Animals Count (SAC) Dashboard for Multnomah County Animal Services

How You Can Use This Data

The public dashboards from Shelter Animals Count allow community members, researchers, and supporters to see ongoing intakes and outcomes.

By exploring the data, you can:

• Track Trends: Look at monthly intakes and outcomes to see which times of year our shelter handles the highest number of animals.
• Live-Release-Rates: You can use the available data to check the Live Release Rate (Live Outcomes / Total Outcomes).
• Compare Progress: Use past data to see how our current intakes and outcomes compare to previous years.

Shelter Animals Count Animal Welfare Glossary

Main Charts - Intakes & Outcomes

• All Domestic Animals (all pets combined)
• Dogs & Cats (Includes puppies & kittens)
• Dogs Only (Includes puppies)
• Cats Only (Includes kittens)

How to Calculate the Live Release Rate

The Live Release Rate shows the percentage of animals that left the shelter alive (through return to owner, adoption, or transfer).

To calculate this rate for a specific time or group:

1. Select the animals you want to include using the round selection buttons
2. Set the time period (year)
3. Look at the numbers at the top of the chart.
4. Find the total number under the Live Outcomes column.
5. Divide that number by the total in the Gross Outcomes column.

How to see monthly data - to view data from a specific month, hover the mouse over the set points on the line-chart timeline. You can see the counts for each intake and outcome type.

How often is the dashboard updated? - Shelter Animals Count updates the dashboard on or around the 15th of each month for the previous month’s data.

Comparing Different Dates

There are separate dashboards to compare Intakes and Outcomes from year to year, or month to month. You can look at these comparisons for all domestic animals, dogs and cats combined, dogs only, or cats only.

Intake Comparison

Time Periods Available: Use the choice buttons at the top of the chart to change your view. You can compare:

• Current year-to-date intake compared to prior year - All Domestic Animals
• Current year-to-date intake compared to prior year - Dogs and Cats (Including Puppies & Kittens)
• Current year-to-date intake compared to prior year - Dogs (including puppies)
• Current year-to-date intake compared to prior year - Cats (including kittens)

Outcomes Comparison

• Current year-to-date outcomes compared to prior year - All Domestic Animals
• Current year-to-date outcomes compared to prior year - Dogs & Cats (Including Puppies & Kittens)
• Current year-to-date outcomes compared to prior year - Dog (Including Puppies)
• Current year-to-date outcomes compared to prior year - Cats (Including Kittens)

Where are Transfers? - If you want to see data on transfers (animals moved from our facility to other shelters or rescue groups), Shelter Animals Count displays them in a separate chart. 

Transfers are visible here.