2015-2016 data survey. FOHO is on a mission to update this data. A group of WVU students are assisting now in updating this information with county commissions in 2026. This is what we base our 5 day hold cost of $218 on. We have increased it to $300 for 2026 but we hesitate to do anything further without more supporting data.
| Barbour |
$52,175 |
Mercer |
$434,739 |
|
| Berkeley |
$304,766 |
Mineral | ||
| Boone | Mingo |
$55,895 |
||
| Braxton |
$107,400 |
Monongalia |
$545,998 |
|
| Brooke |
$280,633 |
Monroe | ||
| Cabell |
$260,000 |
Morgan |
$113,296 |
|
| Calhoun | Nicholas |
$120,483 |
||
| Clay | Ohio | |||
| Doddridge | Pendleton | |||
| Fayette |
$325,627 |
Pleasants |
$23,000 |
|
| Gilmer | Pocahontas | |||
| Grant |
$18,062 |
Preston |
$263,000 |
|
| Greenbrier |
$292,000 |
Putnam |
$387,000 |
|
| Hampshire | Raleigh |
$132,000 |
||
| Hancock |
$261,617 |
Randolph |
$175,000 |
|
| Hardy | Ritchie |
$34,700 |
||
| Harrison |
$313,012 |
Roane | ||
| Jackson |
143, 528 |
Summers |
$22,318 |
|
| Jefferson |
$349,648 |
Taylor |
$91,228 |
|
| Kanawha |
$244,000 |
Tucker | ||
| Lewis |
$128,639 |
Tyler |
$0 |
|
| Lincoln |
$37,800 |
Upshur |
$174,502 |
|
| Logan |
$101,154 |
Wayne |
$100,000 |
|
| Marion |
$256,270 |
Webster | ||
| Marshall |
$319,840 |
Wetzel |
$193,744 |
|
| Mason |
$127,500 |
Wirt | ||
| McDowell | Wood |
$270,996 |
||
| Wyoming |
$33,280 |
|||
FOHO WV made phone calls to these counties in 2015 talking to county commissions to obtain this data. There is no other funding added except for county commission dollars and in some few cases money from some municipalities. This is the cost to impound, care for, and euthanize unwanted dogs and cats. The average sheltering cost per animal is $218. We have not done a new study on these dollars. Average numbers range from $300 to $950 nationwide. Accounting for inflation it is estimated that our cost has risen to $300 per animal sheltering cost.
Each year, animal shelters in West Virginia take in over 50,000 cats and dogs, and each year, about 40% of these animals, including perfectly healthy and adoptable pets, are euthanized. Meanwhile, West Virginia taxpayers spend nearly $10 million annually to impound, care for, and euthanize unwanted dogs and cats. By funding the WV State Spay Neuter Fund, we can control this pet-overpopulation by helping pet owners and communities throughout West Virginia spay and neuter local cats and dogs! We can save money and save lives!