RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Wake County is waiving adoption fees for some dogs as the animal center continues to face capacity concerns.
Through next Monday, dogs that have been sheltered for more than three weeks can be adopted without a fee.
“It has just been raining dogs here for the past two weeks,” said Meagan Thomas, Outreach Coordinator at the Wake County Animal Center.
Right now, 95 dogs are on the adoption floor that’s designed to ideally hold 75. Staffers have had to begin closing off access to an additional area within kennels to accommodate more animals.
Typically, dogs have a guillotine door that allows them into a second area to use the bathroom, but when there’s a strain on numbers, those doors are closed.
“Put one dog on this side, one dog on the other side, in really small, cramped quarters to keep them alive,” Thomas said, noting the center has gone nearly eight years without euthanizing an adoptable animal.
Thomas says this is the third time already this year they’ve been full.
“Biggest reason for us that we’re seeing right now with our owner surrenders are financial reasons as well as housing, just not able to find housing that will allow a bigger dog or a certain breed of dog.”
It’s an issue that’s not limited to Wake County, as shelters across the country are faced with more animals coming in than can be adopted.
According to the first quarter report from Shelter Animals Count, a national database that aims to survey dogs in shelters across the country, there’s been a more than 13 percent increase in intakes since 2021, and a 3.1 percent jump since last year.
At the same time, adoptions have lagged behind, including just a 1 percent increase since last year.
The data also shows a staggering increase in non-live outcomes at shelters across the country, with a 97% uptick in dogs since 2021.