GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Shelters across the country are feeling the pressure as the number of dogs in their care is on the rise. At the Kent County Animal Shelter, things are no different and they are asking for your help to solve the problem.
"We're at a point now where it is impacting the lives of these dogs," says Steve Kelso, Kent County's communications manager.
Currently, there are more than 140 dogs in the shelter, which is legally unable to turn any away.
"We had 15 dogs come in here as strays just in one weekend," says Kelso.
The issue with strays, they can't be put up for adoption immediately, having to be held for a period of time to give their owners a chance to recover them. Those longer stays mean taking up more space in the facility, and more dogs long term means an already stretched thin staff has even more on their plate.
"Our staff is simply under the weight of all these dogs and are working very hard to get their work done," says Kelso.
To help, the shelter asks if you find a stray, try finding its home on your own before bringing it in. Whether it's knocking on doors or posting on social media, you may find the owner quickly and keep that dog out of the shelter.
"If maybe you can help us with that stop gap that might help stop the flow," says Kelso. "We're looking at doing this from two sides. Now, you've got a supply side and the demand side. And if we can curb a little on that supply side, that would help us out as well."
To further help lower the number of dogs, the shelter will be participating in the Empty the Shelter event which begins tomorrow and lasts through December 17th. All adoption fees will be less than $50.
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