TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Drastic times are calling for drastic measures at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. For the first time in its history, the shelter is turning away animals.

“Everything happening at one time has completely inundated our shelter with especially large breed dogs,” said Ornella Varchi, Chief Development Officer.

Intake stopped on Tuesday and will only resume Saturday on case-by-case basis. The shelter is also dividing their dog kennels in half to take more than usual. The shelter went past its 350 animal limit after Hurricane Ian.

“We’ve also seen a huge amount of strays coming into us, so we already had that issue beforehand,” Varchi explained. “Of course, it gets compounded with the hurricane, and then there was more strays and more people having to surrender.”

Ian sent Good Samaritans to the shelter bringing lost dogs, volunteers took in pets from a Hardee County Animal Control that flooded and another local shelter that temporarily closed.

“This is the first time that we have had to do this and especially now that we’re in a larger building as well,” Varchi said. “It’s a completely new thing for us.”

While there is no background check to adopt, there is a lengthy application process and interview to ensure the right people are adopting pets. Until October 7 at 5 p.m., the shelter is waiving the $125 adoption fee for dogs weighing 30 pounds or more. Thankfully, the Humane Society is doing fine with cats.