They show up at all hours of the day to surrender their pets, many of whom will remain at the shelters for months until 鈥� or if 鈥� they get adopted.
Some thought they could do it when they adopted their pets, only to realize they can鈥檛. Others claim they鈥檙e moving and simply can鈥檛 afford the pet deposits. The stories they tell shelter workers around the country seem to echo similar reasons in many cases: inflation and rising costs.
About 23 million U.S. households adopted pets during the pandemic. A few years later, some are racking up credit card debt to care for them or surrendering them to animal shelters, according to a PBS NewsHour from Feb. 20.
City staff have reported a similar situation affecting Denton鈥檚 Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center.
鈥淒enton Animal Services (DAS) continues to receive a high volume of surrendered dogs to the shelter, resulting in the shelter being at capacity for dogs,鈥� staff wrote in a from May 12. 鈥淪ome animals have been in the shelter for several months, which can have a negative impact on their overall mental and physical health.鈥�
鈥淎nimal Services staff is working diligently with rescue and foster groups to place the animals; however, animal shelters, rescues and foster groups are all experiencing the same influx of dogs and demand for resources.鈥�
Denton Animal Services Manager Shelly Meeks said that while the shelter does have space available for small dogs, puppies and cats, they don鈥檛 have any space available for large dogs. She said they have a waitlist with 100 people on it waiting to surrender their large dogs.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen numbers like this in probably 10 years,鈥� Meeks said.
She said that while the has been able to help some pet owners who are struggling to afford care, the foundation can鈥檛 solve this problem alone.
鈥淏elieve it or not, we are at capacity,鈥� City Manager Sara Hensley said Tuesday. 鈥淲e鈥檝e run out of space, period.鈥�
That鈥檚 why a proposal to expand the animal shelter could be part of the November 2023 city bond package. The citizen bond advisory committee held its first meeting to discuss the bond package Tuesday night. As the group continues to meet in June and early July, they鈥檒l determine which proposals, such as the animal shelter expansion, will be included.
Hensley and Meeks saw several reasons Denton鈥檚 animal shelter is at capacity:
- People adopted pets because they thought they could do it, but then returned the animals to the shelter because they can鈥檛 afford it.
- People adopted animals during the COVID pandemic, but then realized they could no longer care for their pet after they returned to work in person.
- Explosive growth continues to hit the Denton area, bringing in more people and more animals.
- People from other cities, such as Corinth, are surrendering their pets at Denton鈥檚 shelter.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 necessarily go, 鈥榃here are you from? Oh, you鈥檙e from Arlington, we鈥檙e not going to take your animal,鈥欌�� Hensley said.
A former city administrator in Austin, Hensley referred to the animal shelter in the capital city, known as one of the largest cities in the country with a no-kill shelter. About this time last year, the Austin Animal Center was facing a similar situation to Denton and struggling to remain a no-kill shelter due to overcrowding. In late July, the shelter was at 145% capacity for dogs and 171% for cats, according to an Austin Chronicle .
Some of the reasons Austin was able to have a no-kill facility, Hensley said, is because volunteers and people would adopt the animals.
鈥淲e take a lot of pride in being a very, very, very, very, very no-kill shelter,鈥� Hensley said. 鈥淏ut when you say no-kill, that isn鈥檛 always true because some animals come in so injured that they have to be put to sleep. But we don鈥檛 just arbitrarily put animals to sleep.鈥�
However, the Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center has been struggling to find a home for the most vulnerable, and Meeks said she hopes the expansion happens due to the area鈥檚 population growth.
Denton Animal Services staff have been figuring out ways to address the issue. They鈥檙e currently offering what they call a 鈥�30 for $30鈥� offer 鈥� any animal that has been at the shelter for 30 days or longer has an adoption fee of only $30.
They鈥檝e also worked with the to find forever homes for five dogs who were considered the most vulnerable. Foundation supporters started raising awareness via social media, and the foundation has offered a $100 PetSmart gift card upon adoption.
鈥淪ince then, DAS has seen a spike in interest,鈥� city staff wrote in the May 12 staff report. 鈥淪taff expects the dogs will soon find their forever homes.鈥�
Meeks said the foundation has already found homes for the five dogs.
鈥淚 may reach back out to them to do another set,鈥� Meeks said.