The Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Services is experiencing an overcrowding problem with dogs. | Adobe Stock
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Services is experiencing an overcrowding problem with dogs. | Adobe Stock
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Services shelter is overrun with dogs, and officials say it might have to start euthanizing the animals unless adoptions increase.
“For every dog that is leaving the shelter through adoption or a foster placement, there are two dogs coming in the back door from an officer’s van,” shelter representative Melissa Knicely told WBTV. “We are drowning. We are minus 40 dog kennels.”
Currently, the shelter has 220 dogs, with another 70 already in foster homes. Forty of those 220 on-site are being kept in a holding area where they will have to wait for space to open.
The shelter workers understand not everyone can make the long-term commitment that goes with adopting a dog. With the crowding situation, they are looking for volunteers who can take four-legged friends for a “staycation,” or a short-term visit to their home.
Fostering is another temporary option. A person can take a dog home for a few weeks. Sometimes those dogs require socialization, where they learn to live with humans who love them, or care after a surgical procedure.
Available dogs can be viewed at the shelter or at animals.cmpd.org. A quick survey shows that the dogs run the gamut, from the young to the elderly, from small to large.
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