I wrote earlier this year about a lofty goal the San Francisco SPCA has: ending animal abandonment – pet dumping at shelters — citywide by 2020. I was happy to read in the SF SPCA newsletter that they’re taking important steps toward meeting that goal. Fiscal year 2012 (July 2011 through June 2012) was the nonprofit’s “best year for adoptions in more than a decade.”

*affixes party hat*

SF SPCA reports that it helped find 4,525 animals new homes in that time, leading me to wonder (however happily), why now? Depending on who you talk to, the economy is looking up. Perhaps people have bigger apartments, houses, or pocketbooks. Surely, the cost for a rescue, the animal’s health issues not withstanding, is lower than that of a purebred puppy. But what other factors impact your decision to even have a pet in the first place or, going even further, committing to adopting one from a shelter?

Photo: AndersP on Flickr