McKamey Animal Center is experiencing a space crisis, and is asking for the public’s help. According to the latest report by Shelter Animals Count, the national sheltered animals database, intakes of animals in shelters all across the country are far outpacing adoptions, creating a national sheltering crisis. MAC is no exception, with 415 animals arriving in May and only 330 departing.
For a shelter to function humanely, the number of animals coming in and leaving needs to be equal. When more animals come in than go out, the shelter becomes overcrowded, and animals can’t get the individualized humane care they need and begin to suffer. Here at MAC we are trying to navigate this crisis by holding animals in temporary pop-up kennels, staff cubicles, and every other available space, and even putting multiple animals in spaces designed to hold just one, but these are not humane options. While MAC prides itself on being a facility that does not euthanize animals simply for time or space, without a huge influx of adopters and foster families we may not be able to honor that commitment much longer.
“We are at a critical point in sheltering homeless animals at MAC, and things are only going to get worse as the summer continues. We need the public’s help now, more than ever, if we are going to be able to continue honoring our commitment of not euthanizing simply for time or space,” said Inga Fricke, MAC’s executive director. “If you’ve thought about adopting a new dog, now is the time to do so. We have over 150 animals available for adoption who have been waiting for hundreds of days, and all of them deserve to be in a loving home, not an overcrowded or too-small kennel. Even if you can’t adopt, please consider becoming a temporary foster, or share our adoptable pet information with friends and family.”
To make adopting easier, MAC is planning to continue adoption events decreasing adoption fees and fully-waiving them as the summer months roll in. Starting June 2nd, adoption fees will be reduced to only $10 for all adult animals (6 months and older). MAC anticipates the sheltering crisis to only get worse as the summer continues.
“We are taking in an average of over a dozen animals per day, and have a wait list for owner surrenders of 500+ pets at this time. We’re doing everything we can right now,” said Lauren Mann, director of Advancement. “For every animal that is adopted, there’s 5-6 waiting to come in and fill the kennels. We have doubled dogs up as we can to make room, have hosted discounted adoption events, are working with people to rehome themselves and much more, but we are simply running out of humane options and animals will suffer if something does not change. We need the public to help us navigate this crisis.”
MAC also needs assistance from those who find stray pets. More often than not, a stray pet is simply loose, not lost, and likely belongs to a neighbor. Finders can help by holding onto the animal, canvassing the area you have found the pet, knocking on neighbors' doors, posting on the community's social media pages and hanging up flyers around the neighborhood. Of course, finders should call MAC to report the found pet so they can check lost reports, but bringing the pet to MAC should be the last step, not the first.
If you or someone you know are interested in adopting a pet, fostering, in need of rehoming assistance, finding a lost pet and not sure what to do, or are considering a donation to support MAC during this challenging time, you can visit www.mckameyanimalcenter.org for more information.
MAC is open Tuesday through Friday from 12 to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for adoptions. All animals available for adoption can be viewed at https://mckameyanimalcenter.org/available-pets-at-mac/