I have a word problem to figure out and it is a doozy. Remember the ones with two cars driving from here to there - one is going 50 miles and hour, the other 55 - how many hours will it take ...

Before I give you the problem, actually it is a dream, here are the facts.

1. 6-8 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year.
2. 3-4 million cats and dogs are euthanized by shelters each year.
3. 3-4 million cats and dogs are adopted from shelters each year.
4. There are approximately 6.5 million owned dogs in the U.S.
5. Most owners (65%) own one dog.
6. Eighteen percent of owned dogs were adopted from an animal shelter.
7. Seventy-two percent of owned dogs are spayed or neutered.
8. Average number of pups one fertile dog can produce in one year is 16.
9. There are approximately 77.6 million owned cats in the U.S.
10. 51% of cat-owning households own one cat; the remaining own two or more.
11. Average number of kittens one fertile cat can product in one year is 15.
12. Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. (Spay USA)

Now, that's the problem. I would Love to end up with a graph showing movement towards solutions. Please help me if you can ...

If we lowered the birthrate by 2%, 5%, 10% ...

If we converted 2%, 5%, 10% of the single dog and single cat owners into adding just one more ...

If we increased the percentage of spay/neutered households by 2%, 5%, by 10%

And, what if the number of dogs going into shelters was reduced by 2%, 5%, 10%?

How would the above tweaks to our present situation affect the "entering shelters" figure? How would that affect other figures?

*Note: About reducing "the # of dogs going into shelters." Many of the dogs I meet at my SPCA are in the 1-3 year age group. They lack manners, can be difficult to walk etc.

According to SPAUSA.org "Behavior Problems" is one of the Top 5 reasons dogs are returned to shelters. I assume their owners don't know what to do and feel overwhelmed by their dog. (I am not excusing this human behavior, just being factual.) It seems logical that increased owner education via teachers such as Caesar Milan "The Dog Whisperer," group classes like those offered by PetCO etc. could affect those numbers.

If you need more data for this project ... just let me know. These are 2 documents that supplied key data and raised questions:

Latest US Data Show Shelter Killing Down to 4.2 Million/year
http://www.spayusa.org/media/pdfs/companion_animals/article01.pdf

and
Spaying And Neutering: Myths vs. FACTS
http://www.spcala.com/pdf/hePresentation3&4.pdf