WHY IS THERE AN ANIMAL SHELTER CRISIS?
HUMAN SHELTERS ARE IN CRISIS so it stands to reason that animal shelters would be overcrowded & overburdened as well. until we gets a handle on the issues that plague this country, such a food insecurity, houseless individuals, and the giant wealth gap that makes it possible for their to be billionaires living comfortably in this country while there are millions living in poverty, then we cannot expect all animals to be in happy homes, well cared for… but we can certainly try!
According to the ASPCA, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter shelters every year, but only half of those pets are adopted.
Since 2021, animal surrender rates - and in particular, the rate of surrender of dogs and puppies - have been rising at shelters all across the country due to a complex blend of factors. Prior to the 2020 pandemic, owner surrenders made up 34% of shelter intakes. By the end of 2022, it had passed 50%. At the same time, adoptions dropped 31% in 2022 - the lowest number in 20 years. Again, dogs and puppy adoptions have been especially low. High intake and low adoptions is a recipe for disaster, and it's happening everywhere. The overcrowding in Baltimore shelters is the worst it's been in over a decade, and it isn't slowing down. At this point, many shelters are in crisis. There simply is nowhere left to put the animals that are being left behind, and no one coming to take them home. And although those shelters are not the cause of this disaster, and cannot control it, they will be blamed and vilified when they are forced to turn to euthanasia as a last resort.
causes of increased shelter intake:
Covid lockdown and the return to work. There was a huge spike in pet ownership - especially dog ownership - in 2020. Whether these new dog owners believed they would be working remotely for good, or whether they simply were not thinking in the long term, many had a rude awakening in 2021-2022 when they had to return to work. They no longer have time to care for the pets they brought home in 2020. Owner surrenders were up 20% in 2022, with most of the increase being dogs and puppies.
Opportunistic breeding. The huge spike in pet ownership in 2020 attracted plenty of attention trom tolks who saw an opportunity to make some cash. Backyard breeding went through the roof. We even had someone show up to a fundraiser event, at the very worst point of our overcrowding, and bring a litter of corgi puppies to sell. $1400 each. Unfixed, unvaccinated. Meanwhile, every one of those "pure bred" dogs that doesn't sell? Those come straight to a shelter. So not only are they inundated with surrenders from owners who bought but can no longer care for their dogs; not only are they dealing with a community in which there are just way more dogs across the board to try and find homes for; they’re also having to directly clean up the mess made by irresponsible breeders.
causes of decreased adoptions:
Inflation and an out of control housing market are crushing adoptions. Everything is far more expensive today than it was in 2021, and that has priced a whole segment of potential adopters out of pet ownership. The rental housing market is particularly out of control; finding any affordable housing, much less housing that allows animals, and even more so housing that allows, say, a dog over 30 Ibs or bully breeds, is extremely difficult.
That's another entire population of potential adopters lost.
Covid dogs are often difficult placements. So many of the dogs coming in now were raised in lockdown conditions, often by inexperienced owners. They are unsocialized, untrained, and many suffer from separation anxiety in varying degrees of severity. These dogs would be challenging to place in a normal adoption climate; in an extremely slow adoption climate, they can expect to wait months or years.
The market is saturated. Many wonderful pet owners got dogs in 2020 and 2021 as well, and the vast majority of those families still have their dogs. They're not looking to add another pet, and they won't be for quite a while.