Happy day at HSOY: Shelter sees empty dog kennels
It is all too common to hear reports from the Humane Society of Yuma that their facility is at maximum capacity. But on Thursday, the organization celebrated a rare occurrence: Many dog kennels were emptied and are open — although the shelter still has a high cat population.
As of Thursday morning, HSOY had 28 large dog kennels and 15 small dog kennels open. In a phone interview with the Yuma Sun, HSOY spokeswoman Lana Shapiro said the shelter was delighted to see the empty spaces and is hopeful for it to occur again.
The last time such an event happened at the shelter was in the fall of last year following HSOY’s annual Fall Festival when Quail Construction sponsored adoption fees for a week.
This time, however, the unoccupied kennels, which left one building at the facility empty, just seemed to occur by happenstance, Shapiro said.
“That is why we were surprised,” she stated.
The HSOY spokeswoman feels, however, that the emptying of a kennel building is made possible due to community support and efforts of adopting, spaying and neutering their pets. Another asset to those efforts, she said, is the HSOY Rescue program along with the organization’s partnership with PetSmart Charities and their Everyday Adoption Center.
As of Friday, Shapiro said that although a few of the kennels have been filled since Thursday morning, many still remain open. She added while HSOY expects the empty kennels to fill up soon, it was still a happy day at HSOY nonetheless to see empty kennels from lives saved.
As winter visitors return, the shelter remains optimistic that it will see more open spaces in the kennels.
According to an HSOY news release, the organization runs an open admission shelter, which means they cannot and do not turn away dogs and cats, which makes the empty kennels all the more of a precious occasion, Shapiro noted.
Run by staff, volunteers and donors, the center must do what they can with the resources available to save dogs and cats in the community, Shapiro said. Every year, HSOY takes in over 4,000 dogs or approximately 11 dogs per day.
Although it was a happy day at HSOY on the dog end of the spectrum, Shapiro noted the organization is still hard at work trying to care for all the cats and kittens coming into their care.
As of September, HSOY this year has seen 3,687 cats come into the shelter, with an average of 409 cats per month. In comparison, dog intake accounts for 3,121; 566 more cats have come into the shelter than dogs.
According to the HSOY news release, the shelter has adopted and rescued a total of 2,794 dogs, compared with 1,249 cats. The numbers reflect adoptions both at the shelter and at the PetSmart Charities Everyday Adoption Center, with animals being sent to HSOY’s rescue partners throughout Arizona and being reunited with or returning to their families.
Shapiro said that while the intake of cats should be slowing soon, HSOY is in desperate need of donations and aid for their continued care.
“We are trying really hard to find homes for them, which is why we’ve had adoption specials every weekend to try to get especially the kittens out,” Shapiro said. “We’ve had a good number of cat adoptions, just the inflow is still coming, so we are trying to find them homes as best as we can.”
An adoption special will be in effect this weekend at the shelter. Kittens will be available in an adopt-one- get-one-free event on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
The adoption fee for a kitten is $40 and does not include licensing, which is required for those who live in the city of Yuma limits.
The HSOY shelter is at 4050 S. Avenue 4 1/2 E and can be reached by calling (928) 782-1621.
Additionally, a list of items needed at the shelter as well as ways to make monetary donations can be found on the HSOY website, www.hsoyuma.com