Cats and dogs are filling cages at local shelters run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

But the high euthanasia rate at the Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA has one group concerned.

At more than 65 percent, the R-H SPCA has the highest death rate among government-contracted non-profit shelters of its kind in Virginia, according to data from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

"Certainly euthanasia is something the SPCA always addresses each and every year. But, unfortunately there are not unlimited resources to address the needs of every animal that comes through our door," says Anne Anderson, executive director of the R-H SPCA.

The group Citizens for Animal Welfare is asking Harrisonburg and Rockingham County leaders to stop giving their combined $400,000 allocation to the R-H SPCA. Instead, the group wants to take that funding and start a new program.

"Each community varies greatly, and the pets that they receive are going to have all kinds of different needs. It could be medical, or it could be behavioral," says Anderson.

Cate Mansfield, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Spay/Neuter Clinic, is one of the people leading the effort to start the new program.

"People want to do the right thing. They just may simply need the education or may need financial assistance," says Mansfield.

Mansfield says her organization can provide more resources including pet training, a bigger foster care program, and a database to help reunite pets and owners.

"Numerous communities across the country and state have put these programs into place very, very successfully. And the communities have embraced them," says Mansfield.

Mansfield says within a year, her organization could bring the death rate below 15 percent.

"It's not tied to money. It comes down to leadership and a philosophical difference," says Mansfield.

During Tuesday's city council meeting, officials also considered hiring a mediator to get the two groups talking.