The Jefferson City Animal Shelter saw a slightly lower number of animals adopted and returned home in 2020 compared to the year prior.
Each year, the shelter takes in cats, dogs and other animals such as hamsters and works to find them homes.
Most animals within the shelter either get adopted or sent to a rescue.
In 2020, 725 cats, 459 dogs and 61 other animals fell into those categories.
The year before, 765 cats, 626 dogs and 47 other animals were adopted or sent to a shelter.
According to the animal shelter website, all adopted animals are fixed, vaccinated, micro-chipped and fully vetted before going to their new home.
On average, cats and dogs spend about 17 days at the shelter, which falls under the purview of the Jefferson City Police Department.
"There were obvious impacts to the shelter (from COVID-19). We adjusted the hours and procedures several times over the past year," Lt. David Williams said. "However, we believe we continued the mission of the shelter."
The shelter also has some animals that are housed there temporarily and later returned home.
Last year, 52 cats, 263 dogs and three other animals were returned home.
This compares to 52 cats, 393 dogs and two other animals returned home in 2019.
The shelter also saw a slightly lower live release rate in 2020 with 84.8 percent compared to 85.1 percent in 2019.
Williams said he would not provide a definition of live release rate.
However, according to a document on the shelter's website, it uses the Asilomar formula for that number, which considers the number of animals brought into the shelter compared to the number of euthanized animals.
The percentage of animals that left the shelter alive is 84.8 percent.
The Jefferson City Animal Shelter serves Cole County for strays and provides animal control efforts within Jefferson City.
It works with a network of fosters who can care for animals waiting to be adopted. It also has drop-off cages outside the office at 2308 Hyde Park Road where people can leave found animals.