KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Young-Williams Animal Center is asking for help to temporarily take care of dogs in their care.
As of June 30, the shelter is at critical capacity, and they’re expecting more animals to come in over the next week during the July 4th holiday.
“With the fireworks, all the commotion that goes on, there’s a huge influx of animals that get out, get lost, go missing right around the 4th of July—before and after—because everyone’s celebrating. So we’re expecting a huge influx of animals and we’re already at critical capacity so we are trying to find ways to get animals out of here, get them into a safe home. Our biggest way of doing that is getting some fosters in here,” said Chelcie Bowman, foster and rescue placement manager for Young-Williams.
To help take care of all the animals the shelter is looking for 50 short-term fosters to free up some space until more animals are adopted out. Young-Williams says volunteers will only need to house the animal for two weeks.
“We are grateful to our community for the way they always step up to support local animals in need, and with your help we hope to once again be able to house and care for every lost and stray pet that arrives on our doorstep in the coming days,” said Brandy Ellison, director of inbound operations for Young-Williams.
Anyone interested can apply at young-williams.org/foster, then go to either the Young-Williams Animal Center location at 3201 Division St., or 6400 Kingston Pike to complete the application and pick up a foster pet.
The shelter will provide all the supplies needed, including food at no cost. Staff will also work to match fosters with pets best suited to their households.
For those who lost a pet over the holiday, young-williams.org/lost-found provides a list of steps to help, including visiting the shelter, contacting local veterinarians and searching on social media.