Capacity Score Chart
Mostly well within capacity with room to flex | Housing can be used as intended year-round (even during “kitten season”) Housing is sufficient to accommodate occasional surges (e.g. hoarding cases, disaster response, 4th of July) while still meeting a variety of individual animal needs Example: There is space to move animals around based on specific needs (e.g. quiet areas for fearful animals, less stimulating housing for kennel reactive dogs; non-cage housing for cats that don’t do well in cages) |
Mostly at capacity | Housing can be used as intended most of the time and is sufficient to accommodate routine intake and a variety of individual animal needs, but occasional surges (e.g. hoarding cases, disaster response, 4th of July) exceed capacity Examples: In response to intake surge, euthanasia decisions or emergency transfer arrangements need to be made for animals that otherwise would be good candidates for adoption; and/or housing is used inappropriately (double compartment converted to single compartment; animals housed for > a few hours in cages or areas not intended for that use etc.) |
Over capacity in some areas | Housing, in general, is almost always used as intended, but there is insufficient housing available to meet individual animals’ needs Example: Double compartment kennels are used as such and sick animals are moved to isolation as appropriate, but there are no quiet areas to move stressed/fearful or overstimulated animals |
Over capacity in most areas | Housing is generally used as intended but is often so full that urgent decisions have to be made in order to make room for new incoming animals and/or housing is occasionally used inappropriately Example: Euthanasia decisions need to be made for animals that otherwise would be good candidates for live release in order to make room for new intake. |
Capacity urgently exceeded | Inappropriate housing is often or always used for one or more species. Examples: Animals are housed for more than a few hours in carriers intended for short term use; sick animals remain in general housing due to lack of space in isolation; kennels intended for double compartment use are used as single compartment; multiple animals are co-housed due to housing shortage. |
Mostly well within capacity with room to flex | Monitoring takes place consistently Urgent, routine, and minor individual extra care needs are usually recognized and provided without delay The shelter is neat, clean and welcoming most of the time There is sufficient time to provide care, training and/or enrichment for animals with more extensive needs that the shelter would like to be able to address Example: Training is provided to animals in order to address minor behavioral issues and improve adoptability |
Mostly at capacity | Monitoring takes place consistently and urgent, routine and minor individual extra care needs are usually recognized and provided without delay, but there is insufficient time to provide care, training and/or enrichment for animals with more extensive needs that the shelter would like to be able to address Example: There is insufficient time to provide training to improve adoptability and address minor behavioral issues |
Over capacity in some areas | Routine care such as vaccination, health assessments and basic enrichment are generally provided without delay, but extra care needs for individual animals are sometimes left unaddressed due to insufficient monitoring or lack of staffing to provide such care Population rounds may not take place consistently Examples: Staff is unable to consistently keep up with special needs such as extra bedding for skinny animals, extra visual protection for fearful animals, walks for dogs that appear housetrained, etc. |
Over capacity in most areas | Staff in one or more areas of the shelter frequently work through breaks and/or must work overtime to keep up with critical shelter functions such as animal care and feeding, essential customer service. |
Capacity urgently exceeded | Animals sometimes go without care needed to relieve significant suffering Example: Painful conditions not identified promptly, treatment for pain not provided or missed |
Mostly well within capacity with room to flex | Shelter-acquired disease and behavioral deterioration is rare Resources are consistently adequate to treat common conditions in incoming animals Staff are able to invest in training, protocol and program development to improve animal health and behavioral wellness in the shelter and community |
Mostly at capacity | Severe disease and behavioral deterioration are rare, shelter-acquired disease is uncommon (<10%) Resources are adequate to treat common conditions in incoming animals most of the time, but there is rarely time to invest proactively in shelter population or community health Resources are occasionally exceeded by predictable fluctuations in population Examples: There are inadequate resources to provide access to affordable vaccines or s/n services; there is limited time to work on developing protocols and training materials related to animal health and enrichment; disease levels creep up during kitten season |
Over capacity in some areas | Shelter acquired disease is uncommon (<10%) but resources (appropriate isolation housing/staffing and/or partnerships) are inadequate for treatment of common curable conditions identified in incoming animals that the shelter would like to be able to address (e.g. ringworm) |
Over capacity in most areas | Severe disease spread or behavioral deterioration within the shelter is rare, but shelter-acquired respiratory or GI disease regularly occurs in more than 10% of animals that were healthy upon admission |
Capacity urgently exceeded | Severe disease (e.g. parvo, panleuk) spreads within the shelter > 1-2x/year “Died in care” rate for animals exceeds 1-2% (maybe slightly higher for underage kittens); and/or behavioral deterioration leading to euthanasia occurs more than 1-2x/year |
 Mostly well within capacity with room to flex | Staffing in all areas is adequate to provide for routine needs, individual care and to accommodate fluctuations in intake levels and routine staff turnover/absence without overwork There is time to work on protocols, training or other methods to improve internal processes and/or invest in community health Example: Staff in all departments are able to attend professional development training or networking events; the shelter team periodically steps back from day to day processes to evaluate and plan; proactive community programs and methods to reduce the number of animals requiring shelter care, such as safety net and foster programs, are developed and continually improved |
 Mostly at capacity | Staffing is adequate to provide for all routine needs, individual care and accommodate fluctuations in intake levels and routine staff turnover/absence without overwork There is little time to work on protocols, training or other methods to improve internal processes and/or invest in community health Examples: Staff rarely has time to attend professional development or networking events; the shelter team can’t consistently step back from day to day processes to evaluate and plan; there is limited time to invest in proactive community programs and methods to reduce the number of animals requiring shelter care, such as safety net and foster programs |
 Over capacity in some areas | Staffing is generally adequate to cover all critical care needs and important elements of shelter function without requiring routine overwork but is lacking in some specific areas or is just barely enough Examples: Specific positions are unfilled or missing; specific areas such as medical or field services are not adequately staffed to avoid overwork; turnover means that although staffing is theoretically adequate there are periods where staffing is stretched; animals are receiving care but areas of the shelter appear messy and disorganized |
 Over capacity in most areas | Staff is able to complete critical animal care functions such as cleaning and feeding within allocated hours most of the time, but staffing is limited or stretched thin for important elements of care or shelter function Example: There is often not enough time for enrichment, marketing, or customer care and/or during extended time periods such as kitten season |
 Capacity urgently exceeded | Severe disease recognition and pain management generally occur promptly, but necessary procedures to move animals safely to the appropriate outcome are sometimes delayed or missed Examples: Routine vaccines are not always given immediately on intake; antibiotic treatments are sometimes given late or missed; owner, rescuer, or potential adopter contacts are not made promptly resulting in a prolonged length of stay |
