Animal shelter facing influx of animals
By Chris Fortune
It’s not literally raining cats and dogs, but the St. Joseph Animal Shelter has been flooded with pets.
The shelter at 701 S.W. Lower Lake Road has consistently operated at more than 80% capacity for the past two years, placing stress on the facility. To help, the volunteer group Friends of the Animal Shelter has promoted adoption specials to help clear kennel space, but such measures have helped only temporarily.
“It’ll work, but it seems that we could clear 15 kennels, and we’re going to fill them up within two days because we just have a massive amount of dogs coming in the door faster than we can adopt them out,” Aubrey Silvey, senior animal care specialist, said.
Utilizing social media has become crucial in spreading awareness of adoption specials because the shelter is in a part of town that doesn’t see much residential traffic.
“Nobody is driving down in the stockyards just for fun,” Friends of the Animal Shelter Board Member Meghan Casias said. “They’re down there for a job. They don’t have the time to stop by. So in order to kind of bring people in, we rely on social media to show photos, to give information, share available hours because we’re not available in the morning.”
The shelter sees the biggest increases in foot traffic when adoption fees are reduced. In January, when kennels were filled, the friends group ran a $5 adoption fee special for two days.
“This is by far the worst year we’ve seen, for intake of puppies specifically,” she said. “So it seems like we’re having the adoption special very often at these lower prices, and it’s because we have such a high number of pets.”
More animals have been brought into the shelter over the past year because an increasing number of owners have surrendered their pets.
“People just can’t afford their pets anymore or they’re moving to more affordable housing,” Silvey said. “And a lot of times, that means their pets can’t go with them.”
The shelter has resources available for anyone who needs to find a new home for a pet. Silvey said it’s the best-case scenario compared to sitting in the shelter.
“At the end of the day, we are here for you, but we should be the last resort,” she said. “So if you know you’re going to need to rehome your pet, reach out to us right away.”
Friends of the Animal Shelter and the St. Joseph Animal Shelter have a joint Facebook page where pictures of adoptable animals and updates on adoption specials are shared.
