The Wake County Animal Center is once again nearing capacity. That puts the animals at risk for euthanasia.
The shelter announced Thursday any dog or puppy that has been on the adoption floor for 15 days or longer is available for free adoption.
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All adopted pets are fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered and microchipped before they go home. The regular adoption fees are $95 for dogs, $45 for cats under five years old and $15 for older cats.
The current number of animals at the shelter is:
- 80 dogs
- 7 puppies
- 24 cats
- 31 kittens
- 43 pets living with foster families
- 21 strays (on hold for owners to reclaim)
WRAL News asked shelter staff why this keeps happening.
“It’s a magnitude of things. It’s multiple things. It’s not just one thing…I really think it’s the housing crisis, it’s landlords not allowing pets…[and] the cost of living that is just compounding this problem,” community outreach manager Meagan Thomas said.
Veterinarian Dr. George Ghneim said the cost of owning a pet and caring for it has increased. It’s the same for his profession.
“Unfortunately, we have to raise our prices. That impacts the population, the community,” he said.
The waiting time to surrender a dog is now 4 to 6 weeks, because appointments are fully booked. Animals that are brought in as strays for protective custody or bite quarantines must legally be held by the shelter. When pet owners make an appointment to give up their pet, shelter staff are fully transparent and explain that if the center runs out of space, it is animals on the adoption floor who will be euthanized first.
“Right now, we just don’t have the space. We have so many people waiting to rehome through us,” she said.
Since the pandemic, Thomas said the shelter has brought in fewer animals, but they’re staying longer. On average, she said dogs are staying 4 days longer and cats are staying one day longer.
“We’ve not seen a year like this,” she said.
Any dog or puppy that has been on the adoption floor for 15 days or longer is available for adoption for free. All adopted pets are fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered and microchipped before they go home. The regular adoption fees are $95 for dogs, $45 for cats under five years old and $15 for older cats.