The Habersham County Animal Shelter is overrun with dogs and cats and officials say they’ll have to start euthanizing them if people don’t start adopting them soon.
Animal Care and Control director Madi Hawkins says there are now 144 animals in a shelter built to comfortably house fewer than half that many. The most recent shelter census shows 76 dogs and 68 cats are being boarded. Hawkins says they’re making room for them wherever they can. “We have 26 main kennel runs,” she says, “so what we do in times like this is close the door and we have a dog on the inside and a dog on the outside. That doubles our capacity but it also means half our dogs are sleeping outside.”
“Every day more come in and none leave.” ~ Madi Hawkins, HCACC Director
In addition to the divided kennel runs, the animals are being kept in eight chain link overflow kennels and dozens of cages.
RELATED: Habersham County Animal Shelter volunteer meeting
HCACC staffers are doing all they can to avoid euthanizing the animals, including fostering them in their own homes. “It’s ‘You take home this one’ and ‘You take home that one,’ describes Hawkins.
Still, the situation is so severe that the staff has already begun the difficult task of assessing which of the animals will be put down first if the overcrowding doesn’t let up soon. Just this week they were forced to euthanize three puppies that were brought in with Parvo because there was no place to quarantine and treat them for the highly contagious, yet treatable virus.
No slow down this year
From strays to drop offs, Hawkins says the recent influx of animals into the shelter is unprecedented for this time of year. “We usually start to slow down in November. We are still getting puppies in. We’re still getting litters in. We’re still getting kittens in. The season of cats and dogs has been all year long.”
Hawkins charts a graph each year to show when animal intake volumes are highest. Normally, she says, there are peaks in the graph “but this year has been a straight line with high volume.” Right now things are especially bad. “Every day more come in and none leave.”
Empty the Shelter Sale
In an attempt to ease overcrowding, HCACC has transformed its previous December Dog adoption discount program into an Empty the Shelter Sale.
All adult dogs and all cats are now available for adoption for just $25. The price includes a fully vetted pet with spay/neuter, rabies vaccination, microchip and registration, DHLPP, Bordatella and heartworm tests for dogs and FVRCP and combo tests for cats.
The sale runs through the end of December.
Pictures of the animals needing homes may be viewed online. To view dogs up for adoption, click here. To view cats available for adoption, click here.
Foster homes and volunteers needed
While there’s talk of possibly including a new shelter in a future special local options sales tax referendum, building a larger shelter is a solution that’s years away. In the interim, more foster homes and shelter volunteers are needed.
If you’d like to help, there’s a meeting next week you should attend.
Habersham County Animal Care and Control will hold a volunteer meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14th at the Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville. RSVP by Monday, Dec. 12th by calling 706-839-0195 or emailing [email protected].
The Habersham County Animal Shelter is located at 4231 Toccoa Hwy, # B Clarkesville, Georgia, 30523. It’s open five days a week, Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-12 p.m. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday.
For more on information visit Habersham Shelter Kids on Facebook or call Habersham County Animal Care and control at 706-839-0195.
Updated 12/10/16
