Pendleton County Animal Shelter is asking the community and beyond to come adopt a dog because it is on the “verge of making harsh choices.”
The animal shelter sent out a pleading message on its Facebook page on Thursday, Oct. 17 with photos of its adoptable dogs as the shelter was beyond its capacity. The shelter’s director, John Bloomfield, told LINK nky that it has a capacity for 22 dogs and had 26 dogs as of Friday, Oct. 18. Some are currently doubled up in kennels.
“I’m not the only shelter that’s hurting; other shelters are hurting, rescuers are hurting,” Bloomfield said. “Rescues are the ones who pull from us, and they can’t get dogs out either.”
Pendleton County Animal Shelter is located at 1314 Bryan Griffin Road in Butler.
Bloomfield said that over the seven years he has been with the shelter, they have only had to euthanize dogs if it was medically necessary. Pendleton County is a no-kill shelter; however, Bloomfield said that when a dog has been at the shelter for a very long time, they may have to make some tough decisions.
On Friday, Oct. 18, the shelter’s longest resident—a dog who had been there for over a year—was adopted. Bloomfield said the next set of dogs who have been there the longest is about six months.
One issue Bloomfield said Pendleton County faces is animal dumping. When they are at capacity and get calls to take in dogs, Bloomfield said he must turn people away.
“I actually got four dogs that were dumped by a person who had contacted us, and I told that person, ‘We can’t take them,’ and then a couple of days later, they showed up in another part of the county,” he said.
Kenton County Animal Services is another NKY shelter that said it is over capacity.
Kenton County Animal Services Director Kelsey Maccombs said the shelter has 60 dog kennels available. As of Oct. 18, 81 dogs were in the shelter, and 189 dogs were in foster homes. Maccombs said that, typically, summer is their busiest time, and things slow down at this time of year, but they haven’t seen that happen.
Maccombs said the shelter’s foster program saves them time and time again.
“That 189 in foster imagine if people weren’t stepping up to help us in that way, we would be euthanizing for space,” she said. “Luckily, we haven’t euthanized for space in many years, but with our unprecedented intake this year, we would be in a really tough spot where that would be something we probably have to consider again, but luckily, we’re not there yet because of our foster network.”
Over in Campbell County, the shelter has 28 kennels and is at capacity with 30 dogs. Campbell County Animal Services Director Lisa Krummen said the shelter does not take in more dogs than it has room for.
“We actually have sent a lot of them [dogs] to rescues and have had some adoptions,” Krummen said. “So, we are OK as of today [Oct. 21], but we have been at capacity for months.”
Pendleton and Campbell county shelters do not have foster programs like Kenton and Boone counties, which allow the shelters to take in more dogs; however, Pendleton offers a foster-to-adopt program. This enables folks interested in a dog to make sure it fits into their home before committing to adopting.
Boone County Animal Care & Control Director Colleen Bray said the shelter is always looking for fosters; however, they like to keep their adoptable dogs in the shelter so that people have better access to them.
She said the shelter is not currently experiencing an overcrowding issue, but they have noticed a decrease in rescues pulling from shelters since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shelter has 32 permanent kennels and flex space, allowing for more room. The shelter currently has 22 dogs.
“One of the issues that we run into, and I’m sure our partners are the same way, is we’re holding animals longer, so animals with certain types of behavior concerns, we’re all trying really hard to find them alternative outlets,” Bray said. “So, we have some longer-term residents that stay with us, and then we have a population that is easier to turn over, which typically creates a little bit of a backup.”
Bray said that when someone in the community contacts them about rehoming an animal, the shelter will always try to work with the person to keep the pet at home. Bray said if someone knows they might be coming up in a situation where they must rehome an animal, it’s best to reach out to their local shelter early.
“We really do want to help those animals stay in the home because that’s the best place for them most of the time, and all the staff are willing to work with the public and try to get them the resources they need,” Bray said. “Sometimes it just takes a little time.”
Bray said anyone looking to adopt a dog should start with their local municipalities’ shelters because those animals are the most at risk. Those who can’t adopt an animal can reach out to their local shelters to see what they need. Bray said shelters can typically always use food, blankets and towels. She also said monetary donations or gift cards to places like Tractor Supply, Pet Smart and Petco are helpful when they don’t have access to cash on hand.
To view the dogs available for adoption at the Pendleton County Animal Shelter, click here.
To view the animals available for adoption at Boone County Animal Care & Control, click here.
To view the animals available for adoption at Kenton County Animal Services, click here.
Click here to view the dogs currently available for adoption at Campbell County Animal Services, click here, or for cats, click here.
