Athens’ animal shelter is overflowing with cats and pet dogs through a seasonal spike that has swelled the facility to around capability.
Athens-Clarke County Animal Services operates a shelter for surrendered and stray animals, primarily cats and canine. The shelter has 53 cages for pet dogs and as of Friday, they experienced 55 puppies, which includes a mom and eight puppies, who were not in a cage but remaining retained in a independent home.
The shelter also has approximately 200 cats and kittens accessible for adoption, 90 of which are in foster households, and the remaining 100 at the facility on Buddy Christian Way. There are around 15 canines in foster care as effectively.
Spring and summer time usually see a spike in animals at the shelter, Kristall Barber, ACC animal products and services director, defined. Also, far more kittens and puppies tend to be born then.
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Barber also suspects the improve in animals is owing to far more proprietor surrenders than normal. Even though there is the phenomenon of “pandemic pets” — or animals adopted in the course of the COVID-19 quarantine — Barber explained most of the animals adopted in the course of that time have luckily for us not returned to the shelter.
The shelter is now scheduling surrenders two to 4 weeks out, asking the house owners to hold on for a little whilst so that they can clear out the animals they by now have.
“We’re making an attempt to notify folks, ‘Listen, can you maintain on to it for a number of weeks? We you should not have space enable us get a few cages so that we can have your animal here and you really don’t have to make any other choices,’” explained Barber.
And some of people “other decisions” could be euthanasia, which the shelter has not experienced to complete because March 2020. But due to the fact the facility is a municipal shelter, euthanasia is an option if area turns into an issue and there are no other solutions.
There are possibilities in advance of reaching euthanasia, such as sending the animals to fosters or rescues. In reality, on Friday, the rescue group Our Pal’s Position from Marietta was at the Athens shelter to take some of the dogs.
The shelter also is now overrun because it experienced to shut down for a number of times immediately after 1 doggy, Tsunami, was learned to have parvovirus, a contagious and lethal canine ailment.
The shelter was forced to quarantine until Aug. 4, and any puppies coming into the shelter then were being rather taken to Oconee County, where they will remain until finally Monday. Tsunami was the only dog to catch parvovirus and she has considering the fact that recovered.
Tsunami will be accessible for adoption, alongside with all the other pet dogs, on Saturday from midday to 3.
Through this time, site visitors can wander in devoid of an appointment to meet up with and adopt the dogs and cats. If not, those people fascinated in adopting or viewing the shelter will have to make an appointment due to COVID-19.
For these who can not adopt, the shelter is also in require of fosters for both equally dogs and cats. Candidates can go to the Animal Products and services web site and pick the “community services” tab and “foster” to fill out the form. A property check out will be conducted by way of video clip due to the pandemic and successful candidates will be matched with the animal most effective for them.
When somebody fosters an animal, the shelter will offer all the food, professional medical materials, litter and everything else the animal may possibly want.
The shelter also accepts donations, like food, toys, treats and cat litter. Barber questioned that any monetary donations be presented to Athens Pets, a nearby volunteer firm, relatively than the shelter.