California Canine Conservancy
Ending dog euthanasia in California.
California Canine Conservancy is building a statewide network of care centers and a permanent preserve, and working for the no-kill legislation that makes it last. Together they cost counties and the state less than the shelters a no-kill law would otherwise force them to build. We are in the early planning stage, and we are looking for the donors, partners, and founding board members who will build it with us.
Where we stand. California Canine Conservancy is a California nonprofit corporation and is accepting gifts. We are seeking IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3), which has not been granted. If it is approved, recognition can apply back to our formation date, so gifts may be deductible. Confirm treatment with your tax advisor.
The problem
California shelters still kill tens of thousands of dogs a year.
The cause is infrastructure. The system was built to process animals and has nowhere to put the dogs it cannot place.
39,598
Reported in 2024
Dogs euthanized at the 160 shelters in the University of California’s Animal Shelter Assistance Program, 14% of the dogs in those shelters. That count is the floor.
50,000
Planning figure
Dogs euthanized statewide each year, counting shelters outside the program and deaths in care.
+6%
Since 2019
Dog euthanasia rose 6% from 2019 to 2024 in the 119 shelters with complete data, while cat euthanasia fell 54%.
Source: University of California Animal Shelter Assistance Program (UC Office of the President and UC Davis, March 2026). The 50,000 figure is CCC’s planning estimate.
The plan
A network of care centers and a permanent preserve
Everything below is planned. Nothing is built yet.
1
Four sites, one network
Three feeder sites in San Diego, Northern Los Angeles County, and Northern California take in dogs from shelters. A main reserve in the Central Valley provides the room to keep them. The feeder sites can open while the main reserve is built.
2
Dogs move through, and out
Each dog receives veterinary care, behavior support, and a match with a foster or adopter. Dogs live in managed pack sectors on open land in place of individual kennels. The population we hold is designed to fall over time as dogs go home.
3
A permanent home for the rest
Some dogs cannot be adopted. They live out their lives on protected land at the preserve, and they are never killed.
4
Backed by people with a stake
We are asking corporate partners to donate land and food manufacturers to donate food. We are also working for companion no-kill legislation. Every party in the coalition has a financial reason to take part.
What it delivers
A 90% save rate at full build
At full build the 75,000-dog system reaches the 90% save rate that Best Friends Animal Society uses as its no-kill standard. These are modeled steady-state estimates, not results.
75,000
Dogs held at full build
Across all four nodes, with 100,000 as the expansion case.
$5.15
Modeled cost per dog-day
Reserve cost with system overhead, food at wholesale. Studies cite a shelter dog-day at $13 to $21, depending on the market.
37% to 48%
Modeled cut in dog euthanasia
At full build, 37% for the reserve alone and 48% with the intake package.
Figures are modeled estimates. Cost per dog-day and length of stay come from out-of-state studies, and all four nodes are costed at the main-reserve rate. Food is priced at wholesale and land at nominal cost, so donated food and land improve every figure shown.
The money
Fiscally sound, whatever you think of the cause
The plan saves lives, and it also costs public budgets less than the alternative. Counties, cities, and the state pay for every dog they house.
1
Cheaper than the shelters a no-kill law would force
If California bars killing without building capacity, counties must house the same dogs in shelters. At a cited $13 to $21 a dog-day, that is about $356 million to $575 million a year at full build. The reserve holds them for a modeled $5.15 a dog-day, about $141 million.
2
Cheaper even if shelters turn dogs twice as fast
Cut the shelter figure in half and the avoided cost is still about $178 million to $287 million a year against $141 million for the reserve. Shelter care would have to cost under $5.15 a dog-day before the reserve loses.
3
Capacity and law, together
CCC is working for companion no-kill legislation alongside the network. Delaware funded spay/neuter in 2006, passed its Companion Animal Protection Act unanimously in 2010, and cut killing 91% from its peak by 2015. Idaho and Montana joined Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont as no-kill states in 2026. We are taking that pairing to California at scale.
Modeled estimates. Measured against today’s practice, which ends most dogs’ lives within days, the reserve saves little in shelter cost. The savings are measured against what a no-kill standard would cost in conventional shelters. The $13 comes from a 2018 Austin study and the $21 from a 2018 Pierce County, Washington study of dog kennel costs. Both are older figures, and costs have risen since. We are seeking California cost records to replace them, and the per-dog rate counties would pay is subject to legislation and agreement.
Benefits
Who benefits
Ending the killing costs less than the alternative, and the savings land in four places.
1
The State
The cheapest way to reach no-kill.
- A 75,000-dog system costs about $141 million a year to run. Housing the same dogs in conventional shelters costs $356 million to $575 million a year.
- California ranks second-furthest from no-kill in the country, about 54,400 dogs and cats short of a 90% save rate. The system is built to close that gap.
- One statewide network replaces dozens of local capacity fixes, and donated land and food push the cost lower still.
2
Counties
Kennel space, without building kennels.
- Counties may pay only for the dog-days the reserve absorbs, at a rate below the $13 to $21 a shelter dog-day costs today.
- The county gets a path to meet a no-kill standard without expanding its own facilities.
- Dogs the reserve takes leave county kennels alive, which moves the county toward the 90% save rate Best Friends uses as its no-kill standard.
3
Cities
Relief for overcrowded shelters.
- City shelters run over capacity. The Los Angeles City Controller’s October 2026 audit found dogs averaging 35% above capacity.
- Moving long-stay dogs to the reserve frees kennels for new intakes.
- Feeder sites in San Diego, Northern Los Angeles County, and Northern California put capacity near the cities that need it.
4
You and me
Fewer dogs killed, at lower public cost.
- At full build the system takes in about 18,750 dogs a year that would otherwise die in kennels, and cuts dog euthanasia by a modeled 37% to 48%.
- About 15,000 dogs a year find homes, and the system supports roughly 570 jobs.
- Land that has no better commercial use, such as exhausted petroleum leases and decommissioned solar sites, becomes permanent protected ground.
Modeled estimates at full build. Savings are measured against what a no-kill standard would cost in conventional shelters. County and city payment rates depend on legislation and agreement.
Status
Where we are today
We are in the early fact-finding stage: modeling costs, confirming data, and building the founding team. We say so plainly.
1
Fact-finding and modeling
Intake data, costs, and a throughput model that shows how the number of dogs we hold falls over time.
2
Federal recognition
California Canine Conservancy is incorporated in California. We are seeking IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3). Recognition has not been granted.
3
Founding board
Founding board seats are open. We accept applications and appointments. Seats are filled through the board’s governance process, and a gift does not carry a seat.
4
Land and operating partners
The first feeder is proposed for San Diego County. It combines a merger with an established Orange County rescue and an 80-acre property, both subject to signed terms. We are sourcing donated land first.
Ways to help
Three ways to help build it from the start.
✴
Donors
The first twelve months fund launch, the founding facility, and a pilot that places 500 dogs. They need about $5.4 million, or $3.5 million if donated land is in hand. Gifts may be deductible if our IRS application is approved. Confirm treatment with your tax advisor.
✴
Partners and allies
Counties, cities, corporate sponsors, foundations, veterinarians, and rescue groups each have a financial or mission reason to take part. We are building the coalition behind the network and the companion legislation. Tell us where you fit.
✴
Land, food, and board seats
Landowners with ground that has no better commercial use, such as exhausted petroleum leases or decommissioned solar staging areas, can give it for permanent protected use. We are also seeking dog food manufacturers to donate food, and we accept applications for the founding board.
Get involved
Early supporters shape the plan.
Tell us who you are and how you would like to help.
California Canine Conservancy is a California nonprofit corporation seeking 501(c)(3) recognition from the IRS. Recognition has not been granted.