Pet adopters ease shelter crowds
Paula Tolbert, 73, and her husband, Gary, 77, have been looking for a new pet since their old dog died of cancer.
To find their new best friend — a small dog who wouldn’t shed much — the Tolberts attended Petco Love Mega Adoption at the George R. Brown Convention Center Saturday. It was love a first sight when they saw a 5-year-old dachshund-Chihuahua mix.
The convention center filled this weekend with nearly 2,000 dogs and cats eagerly awaiting future homes, and potential adopters flocked to meet them. All animal adoptions were $35, and the pets went home spayed
“If we get 100 animals adopted today, it’s the tip of the iceberg.”
Don Specks, Sugar Land animal services manager
or neutered, fully vaccinated and microchipped.
While the event cheerfully united pets and their new families, it underscored a serious problem in Houston: All local animal shelters are beyond capacity and the overcrowding crisis is critical.
In 2019, the Mega Adoption resulted in 1,450 animal adoptions, according to Rene Vasquez, director of Fort Bend Animal Services. The event was canceled the past two years due to COVID-19, but Vasquez hopes this year’s event will see similar numbers.
Shelters need to clear as many animals as possible.
Fort Bend Animal Services has more than 200 animals in its shelter, even though its capacity is 130, Vasquez said, adding that he hasn’t seen the crisis this severe.
“It’s never ever been as crowded as we are now,” he said. “About four or five years ago, we were able to keep up with the amount of strays we picked up, but now it just seems like we’re just not catching up. We’ll bring in 50 dogs and only adopt out 10.”
Aaron Johnson, director for Montgomery County Animal Shelter, reported that his shelter is currently caring for more than 400 dogs. It’s designed to accommodate 180.
Dog kennel runs are designed to have one dog per run. Most runs currently house four dogs, he said. Cramming too many animals into the runs spreads disease and increases the risk of injury to dogs and humans, he added, but the alternative is euthanasia or leaving dogs on the streets.
Some shelters are so overrun with animals that they’ve resorted to packing animal crates anywhere there’s space.
“We’ve started stacking crates in the bathroom,” said Chelsea Williams, community outreach coordinator of SPCA Brazoria County. “After we doubled the occupancy of every kennel, we didn’t have anywhere else to put them, and the animals kept coming.”
Cory Stottlemyer, senior division manager for BARC, said that animals have been surrendered to shelters in alarming numbers since the pandemic began to wane.
“We had a lot of people adopt during the pandemic because they were sitting at home not doing anything,” he said. “But then things reopened and suddenly owners didn’t think they had time for their pets anymore.”
The problem is compounded by a lack of public awareness on proper pet care, said Shannon Parker, outreach and education program director for Harris County Animal Shelter.
Unaltered pets reproduce quickly, flooding the streets with homeless pets.
“It’s amazing how many people of all backgrounds I come across that just don’t know the basics of spaying and neutering, and how that impacts animal overpopulation,” Parker said. “The great thing is that most people really want to be good pet owners, and they’re really receptive when we try to educate them.”
The shelter workers hope that the adoptions from the weekend will ease some of the shelter burdens. “If we get 100 animals adopted today, it’s the tip of the iceberg,” said Don Specks, animal services manager for the city of Sugar Land.
Sugar Land Animal Control can accommodate 120 animals but currently has 200. “It’s an important tip, though. If we get these animals cleared we can take in more, and there are always more.”
Specks echoed Parker’s stance on spaying and neutering.
“One large litter of dogs or cats can lead to hundreds of homeless animals without spaying and neutering, and that’s probably the biggest reason we’re struggling so much to find homes for these animals,” he said.
There are no official numbers yet on how many pets were adopted as a result of the Mega Adoption, but as of Saturday, hundreds of visitors found new pets.
Grace Allen, 25, just moved to Houston and wanted companionship. On Saturday, she adopted a 4-month-old beagle mix puppy.
“I was looking for something to come home to, and I’ve missed having a dog,” Allen said.
Allen hasn’t decided on a name yet, but she’s thinking “Cairo” or “Latte,” a nod to the pup’s tri-colored brown, white and black coat. As she spoke, the puppy curled up into a ball in her arms and began to doze.
“I believe in adopting instead of shopping, and this was a great way to meet thousands of dogs from all over the area. This little guy and I just clicked, and now he’s coming home with me.”
The Tolberts’ new dog doesn’t have a name yet either, but Paula thinks she’ll be the perfect fit for their family.
“I love dogs, and I’ve always had rescue dogs,” Paula said. “Gary and I were missing something from our lives, and now we have her.”