At capacity: Washington Area Humane Society discounts animal adoptions
At capacity, Washington Area Humane Society offers discount to spur adoptions
The Washington Area Humane Society is at full capacity, with no space in its kennels and cat condos.
To help create space and find homes as quickly as possible, the shelter is offering 50% off all dog adoptions throughout the month of November.
“We have such a lack of space right now, and adaptions have really slowed down,” said Washington Area Humane Society executive director Kelly Proudfit. “We need to open up cages immediately.”
Last week, a waste management worker found a duffle bag of puppies on the side of the road and brought the puppies to the shelter, and dozens of lost strays “have flooded our doors.”
The no-kill shelter has the capacity for 50 dogs and 50 cats.
“We’ve averaged 95 (dogs and cats) on any given day. I had a woman who came in (Saturday) with three cats to surrender and I had nowhere to put them,” said Proudfit. “She called other rescue places, but nobody’s answering. You could be waiting months for a space to open because there are not enough resources.”
She said the rising cost of living and the increase in the prices of goods and services associated with pet care – food, veterinary, and grooming – are among the reasons animal shelters across the country are at a critical capacity dealing with an influx of surrendered pets.
“The main reason we see for pet surrender nowadays is people can’t afford dog care. The cost of everything has gone up, but people aren’t making more money and they’ve exhausted their reserves. They get evicted, and they can’t afford their pets, can’t afford dog food and other costs that go along with having a dog. So many people got dogs during COVID, and now they can’t afford them. Half the strays we’re seeing are getting dumped because people are calling first to surrender, but we don’t have any room,” said Proudfit.
She said said humane society police officers also “have been working around the clock rescuing animals from abuse and neglect.”
The average length of stay for animals also is increasing – it is 41 days, on average, at the shelter.
Profit said the shelter is working to help pet owners to keep their pets whenever possible, from providing free food to holding spaying and neutering clinics.
“Spaying and neutering is a big priority of ours,” said Proudfit.
The solution to reduce the overpopulation of returned animals isn’t an easy one, but Proudfit said that since a Facebook post sharing shelter’s plight was posted, the community has responded, with financial donations and several inquiries about fostering or adopting pets.
To see the shelter’s adoptable animals, please visit the website at washingtonpashelter.org, or visit the shelter at 1527 Route 136, Eighty Four, Pa., 15330, during animal viewing hours: Tuesdays from 1 to 7 p.m., and Wednesdays through Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m.