KING WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. β A Virginia animal shelter is asking for help from the hunting community as it sees a surge in abandoned hounds at the end of deer season.
The King William Regional Animal Shelter has taken in five hounds in just three days, with 19 of the 23 dogs currently in their care being hounds or hound mixes, the shelter posted on social media. Shelter leaders say this pattern repeats every year when hunting season ends.
"These dogs don't wander in by accident. They have either gotten loose from their pens or have been left behind when the season was over," shelter leaders wrote.
The shelter emphasized it's not blaming hunters but asking for their partnership to address the problem.
"We understand that hunting with dogs is a long-standing tradition in this region, and many hunters care deeply for and responsibly manage their dogs," the shelter posted.
However, the facility says many of these hunting dogs struggle in a kennel environment and the influx strains their already limited capacity.
The shelter is asking the hunting community to help return lost dogs to their owners and find responsible alternatives for dogs no longer being used for hunting before they end up abandoned.
"If someone recognizes a dog, we need them to speak up. We are asking for partnership, not defensiveness. We are asking for solutions, not arguments," the shelter posted.
Shelter leaders made a direct plea to hunters: "Please, we are begging you, do not dump your dogs. When a dog is left behind, the burden doesn't disappear. It shifts to shelters already at capacity and to dogs who never asked to be discarded."
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