Posted October 7, 2022. Our Woodford County friends may have seen our column in the Woodford Sun this week. If you didn’t, here it is. It’s an important read if you want to understand why shelters are in such a dire predicament today. It is a cry for help. We are at a breaking point with overcrowding, and there’s no end in sight.
Woodford Humane Society is currently full to 170% capacity with dogs and puppies. Owner surrenders are up by more than 20%. Adoptions have bottomed out. As you can see from the photos below, we have dogs living in crates in hallways, lobbies, and storage rooms. We have dogs doubled up in rooms and kennel runs.
Eight more dogs were scheduled to come in this week. Thankfully, not all of them showed up. We don’t know where they would have been housed. There is literally, physically no room left in this facility. None.
We are announcing today that, effective immediately, Woodford Humane Society’s intake of dogs and puppies will be operating on a wait list. Until a dog leaves, and a space is thus made available, we cannot accept another dog.
What we won’t do is abandon our screening process just for the sake of getting animals out the door. It is our duty to make sure these pets find loving homes where they will be provided appropriate care.
What we won’t do is create space for new dogs at the expense of our current residents by euthanizing the dogs in our care.
We will continue to work with Woodford County Animal Control to meet the needs of unclaimed animals. We will continue in our commitment to provide a lifelong safe haven for dogs who have been adopted from us, should they need it. We will do our best to help as many other Woodford County dogs and puppies as we possibly can, but it will take time. We are asking for patience, understanding, and compassion. And we are begging for your help.
With so many animals in care and too few adoptions causing longer stays, our expenses are rising rapidly. Woodford Humane Society receives no government funding at any level. We function entirely on donations like yours. Support has never been more urgently needed.
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Please speak up.
Shelters are in crisis across the country. Advocate for shelter pets and shelter work. It’s too easy and too common to make struggling shelters the villain in the story of animal homelessness, and doing so only perpetuates the problem by further starving shelters already hungry for crucial resources.
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Please don’t contribute to overpopulation.
Spay and neuter your pets. Avoid pet stores that perpetuate the cycle of backyard breeding for profit. Make adoption your first choice when you’re ready to add to your family. Adopt for life.