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Our story

Young-Williams Animal Center began as the Knoxville/Knox County Animal Welfare Center that opened in January 2001. As the demand for animal services continued to grow, a group of concerned citizens, including attorneys Lindsay Young and Mark Williams, knew that a larger and more sophisticated facility was needed.

They began a campaign to build the new center as a partnership with the city and county along with private citizens who shared a passion for animal welfare.

The city and county provided funds for the kennel holding areas while a newly organized board of directors raised funds for the adoption floor and upgraded amenities throughout the building.

As a result of these efforts, Young-Williams Animal Center moved into a new $3.7 million facility in May 2004.

Young-Williams Animal Village opened in 2010 and is home to a secondary adoption floor, as well as the Young-Williams Spay/Neuter Solutions.

In July of 2012, Young-Williams Animal Center became a private 501(c)(3) organization.

In 2018, Young-Williams Animal Center achieved for the first time in its history no-kill status. The definition of no-kill means saving all medically and behaviorally treatable animals and maintaining a save rate of 90% or more.

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Mission

At Young-Williams Animal Center, our mission is to lead the community to end pet homelessness, promote animal welfare and enhance the human-animal bond.

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Vision

A home for every pet.

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Core Values

Compassion, Innovation, Integrity, Dedication, Collaboration and Empathy.

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Statistics

Young-Williams Animal Center believes in transparency which is why we openly share our shelter statistics with the public. The information below is data commonly used to measure success in animal sheltering, including the “Save Rate”. The “Save Rate” is the calculation of animals that leave our shelter alive divided by our total intake, as is the industry best practice. We also report our statistics nationally through Shelter Animals Count along with over 4,000 other shelters.

Year
Intake
Adoptions
Returned to Owner
Rescue
Total Live Outcomes
Euthanized or Died
Save Rate

2023

2022

10,694

10,857

6,876

7,203

1,512

1,719

623

329

9,878

10,238

770

666

92.76%

93.89%

2021

9780 6198 1754 140 9110 649 93.35%
2020 7895 4959 1379 303 7411 401 94.86%
2019 9073 5688 1626 445 8560 754 94.35%
2018 9173 5772 1437 1102 8299 1013 90.47%
2017 9547 5824 1591 619 8034 1970 84.15%
2016 11594 5705 1504 52 7261 3966 62.63%
2015 11841 5524 1523 80 7127 4425 60.19%
2014 12090 4664 1492 383 6539 5399 54.09%
2013 13921 5138 1662 432 7232 6547 51.95%
2012 14355 3806 1671 639 6116 7241 42.61%
2011 15030 3410 1617 588 5615 9287 37.36%
2010 15750 3541 1471 616 5628 9714 35.73%
2009 17830 3363 1410 562 5335 12226 29.92%
2008 17685 2819 1318 472 4609 12638 26.06%
2007 17213 2541 1220 669 4430 12261 25.74%
2006 16914 2194 1078 1200 4472 12090 26.44%
2005 16195 2448 960 1087 4495 11546 27.76%
2004 16033 2953 878 888 4719 10848 29.43%
2003 13835 2649 760 1080 4489 8966 32.45%
2002 12331 2326 841 789 3956 8009 32.08%
2001 11864 1500 783 1059 3342 7718 28.17%