Riverside County animal shelters at 220% capacity, put out urgent call to action for adopters
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) -- The Riverside County Department of Animal Services says it is in urgent need of the public's help, as its shelters are at 220% capacity this week.
Officials say this has resulted in multiple dogs per kennel and a decrease in the quality of life for pets.
Some would say the numbers are stacked against the county, as they've consistently accepted more animals than have been adopted.
County data shows that since May 1, 776 animals were adopted, 427 were euthanized, and 2,636 were accepted into shelters.
"It's terrifying of course. I thought the numbers coming in must be way higher than they've been in the course of the last few years. It's not true. They're actually dropping. So our real problem is more about how do we get them out and finding them homes," RCDAS Director Mary Martin said.
The biggest problem? Large dogs, and Martin says it's something they can't adopt their way out of.
"Hiring people and improving our foster program, improving our rescue outreach, lots of things we can do. So I don't want to sound helpless, but what I'm seeing here and through my colleagues everywhere else is the same problem, which is finding homes for the large dogs."
The county is pushing fosters and rescues, but says they need more help from the public.
"A weekend out of the shelter can save a life if it happens to get seen at the coffee shop and get adopted, or even if it just had a few days just to de-stress out of the shelter two weeks a month. We need them to understand that anything is better than being left in a kennel day after day, after day," Martin said.
In some CVAC kennels, you'll find 3-4 large dogs. Some of those who've been in the shelter for nearly a year.
"It's not okay, it's completely inappropriate. We need to be a resource and have space to help our community," Martin said.
It's why officials say they've faced the difficult decision to euthanize some animals for space. Within the past week, 152 animals have been euthanized, while 821 have been recorded as intake at all four campuses.
For animal advocates like Jessica Klein, changes still need to be made.
"It all needs to happen quicker, and it needs to happen with more transparency. I wonder why are they paying the consultant $2.5 million? Take that money and enlarge the shelter," Klein said.
Now, they're waiving all adoption and return-to-owner fees, as well as extending hours, in hopes of getting more animals out. San Jacinto Animal Campus will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight this Saturday to encourage adoptions.
Stick with News Channel 3 as we continue to follow this story.
