Report: Tennessee has nearly 87% save rate for shelter dogs and cats Last year, 103,188 dogs and cats entered state shelters and 90,054 were saved, the animal welfare organization, which is working to end the killing of shelter animals in the United States by 2025, found. Best Friends' sixth annual pet lifesaving dataset gives a national overview of the number of dogs and cats that enter and exit shelters each year. The group measures shelter lifesaving with a metric called “save rate.” A 90% save rate is the nationally recognized benchmark to be considered “no-kill,” factoring in that about 10% of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia.