Shelter Can't Keep Up With Intakes, Euthanasia For Space On The Table For The First Time In 8 Years

Shelter Can’t Keep Up With Intakes, Euthanasia For Space On The Table For The First Time In 8 Years

Holmes County, OH – An animal shelter in Holmes County, Ohio, is facing the same overwhelming situation that shelters across the nation are dealing with…too many unwanted pets and nowhere to put them all.

This morning, the Holmes County Dog Warden’s Department and Adoption Center let the public know that they were facing a situation that they had not faced in nearly a decade…euthanizing unwanted pets because there was no space.

An alert to the community explains the dire situation:

The last few months have been discouraging, exhausting, and disheartening. The number of intakes just continues to soar. Our shelter is at a point where we may have to make some very tough choices in the near future. We simply can not keep up. We have dogs set up in our adoption room. We have two dogs in some of the kennels. We have two dogs in foster. The noise is absolutely unbearable in our kennels and is creating the absolute worst environment for some of our dogs.

The community stepped up on Monday to help with the concerning situation. Some dogs were adopted and others were sent to temporary foster homes – enough help was secured to give the facility a bit of breathing room.

But that breathing room is temporary.

The shelter reminded people to do their part:

Be a responsible pet owner. Spay and neuter your pets. License them properly (per state law) and put that tag on the dog. Get your dogs microchipped and stay on top of its registration. Establish a good relationship with your local shelter.

Reminding the public that staff is doing everything they can given the resources they have:

Our small 14-kennel operation is not a “No Kill” shelter by the general public’s definition. State law requires us to impound stray dogs. If we continue to pick them up and have no adopters or rescues willing to take them in order to create room for incoming dogs euthanasia is a last resort. We love dogs and are all passionate about what we do here with that being said we did not take the last post lightly. NO dogs I repeat NO dogs were euthanized today!!

The situation this shelter is facing is not unique. Shelters and rescue agencies are drowning in unwanted pets. Please adopt, foster, volunteer, donate – do what you can to support the shelters and rescue groups in the area where you live. And please, be a responsible pet owner.

Find the shelter’s Facebook page here.