RICHMOND, Va. — High inflation and an increase in evictions has more pet owners surrendering or abandoning their animals, according to Richmond Animal Care and Control Director Christie Chipps-Peters.
As a result, the city’s shelter on Chamberlayne Avenue is full.
“We are not going to euthanize animals for space and that's a commitment that we have made and upheld for 10 years. The only way that we can do that is to limit to the number of owned animals that are coming into the shelter,” Chipps-Peters explained.
RACC was one of several local shelters to offer deals and incentives over the weekend as part of National Dog Day. But Chipps-Peters said adoptions are greatly slowing down, too.
The shelter receives 20 to 25 calls every day from pet owners who need help rehousing their dogs or cats.
She is finding some pet owners and their families are turning to rental trucks as shelter for themselves.
“I’m not exaggerating. We have people drive here who are either living in U-hauls or temporarily staying in U-hauls because they don't have a vehicle,” Chipps-Peters recalled. “They rented a U-haul and everything is in there — their animals, their kids. I mean, it's a sad state right now.”
Chipps-Peters spoke about a sobbing woman with three kids in a U-haul who asked to surrender three dogs.
Because the shelter is full, they cannot accept owned dogs or cats. However, pet owners are finding ways around that policy.
“What we have seen now is they are then ‘strays.’ So, people are just dumping them and leaving them or abandoning them and tying them somewhere where they think, ‘Okay, we'll just beat the system, and you have to pick them up.’”
RACC is asking for people to consider adopting or fostering shelter animals. The biggest need is for homes without pets already to take in a dog.
Most of the dogs in the shelter are Pit bulls, but Chipps-Peters is finding more specialty dogs like Frenchies and poodles as strays.
Staffing remains a challenge for RACC. They typically have four officers working during the day.
That number drops if there are vacations, which leaves officers committed to responding to serious calls like bites.
"With the slowing of adoptions plus the increase of animals coming in, we're just at a point where we're drowning," Chipps-Peters stated.
She mentioned they are able to stay open and help other shelters across the Commonwealth with support from the city, Mayor Levar Stoney's office, and the community through the Tommie Foundation.
This problem is not unique to Richmond either.
Richmond SPCA is intentional about seeking out rural and under-supported animal shelters across Central Virginia.
"I got to go last week with our transfer team to partner shelter in Buckingham at the Buckingham County Animal Control. They're a rural shelter serving a large central Virginia county with only three animal control officers who do everything," stated Tabitha Treloar, director of communication for Richmond SPCA.
The Hermitage Road private shelter helps where they can by taking in dogs and cats from these full shelters.
"Last Tuesday, we were able to return with 15 animals. We took all of the puppies they had and we took three adult dogs. The rest we took are cats freeing up cat space in their shelter for them to be able to then help their community without making any difficult decisions about their pets," Treloar recalled.
Last year, the Richmond SPCA worked with 70 transfer partners with a vast majority located in Virginia.
The shelter also offers a diversion program for pet owners seeking to surrender their animal.
"The Richmond SPCA’s Project Safety Net programs are designed to help you keep your pet instead of surrendering him or her to a shelter. Many pet-related challenges have solutions, and we can help you overcome those challenges in order for your family to stay together," according to their website.
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