Animal shelters in the St. Louis area are experiencing an overflow of dogs and cats being brought into their facilities.
The Animal Protective Association of Missouri currently has almost 700 animals in its care, and both of its shelters have reached capacity. APA President and CEO Sarah Javier said most of the animals being brought in are large dogs, making it especially challenging for the organization to find space to care for them.
Javier said this is likely because many people who foster dogs prefer to take care of smaller ones, and some landlords prohibit large dog breeds from living at their property.
To address this, the APA is waiving adoption fees for dogs more than 30 pounds through Monday.
“If a person is considering adopting a pet, now is the perfect time,” Javier said. “Not only are you able to bring a pet into your home, but you’re also creating space for another pet who is in need.”
She said she’s been in contact with shelters across the country, and many others are experiencing similar problems. She added that another possible reason for this influx is that there was a pause on spaying and neutering animals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those effects have been lasting.
She said if someone can’t commit to adopting a pet, they should consider fostering or volunteering to take it on a brief trip from the shelter.
“As wonderful as we try to make it at the APA, and as great as the care that animals receive is, the shelter is still a stressful environment,” she said. “The dogs and cats experience lots of noises that are unfamiliar, there’s lots of smells, lots of just new things, and it can be very, very overstimulating to a pet.”
The nonprofit organization Stray Rescue of St. Louis has been experiencing an overflow problem for almost the entirety of this year. It currently has more than 500 animals under its care.
Katie Grana, event and public relations coordinator, said extreme weather events make this problem worse. The shelter is expecting even more animals to be brought in after Tuesday’s flooding.
“It’s hard on all of us,” Grana said. “But we all stick together and make sure that we’re doing the best for the animals, and we know at the end of the day that we’re saving them, and we’ll work to get them a home each day that we come in.”
Grana said many animals are brought to the shelter because their owners have decided to return them for various reasons, including increases to the cost of living and more landlords restricting animals from properties.
“Having them returned really adds another level of stress on the dogs,” she said. “They were on the streets, they were used to being in a home, and now they’re back in the shelter, so we try to rehome them as quickly as possible.”
Grana said Green Angel Cleaning is sponsoring adoption fees for the rest of the month.
The Center for Animal Rescue and Enrichment of St. Louis is also facing shelter overflow issues. CEO Weng Horak said the nonprofit organization is over capacity, citing evictions and people moving into more affordable housing.
“Unfortunately, some housing facilities have restrictions on big dogs over 50 pounds, leading to an increase in abandoned animals and lost pets,” Horak said. “We urge pet owners to consider microchipping their pets to increase the chances of being reunited with their pets.”
She said adoption fees are waived until the end of the month due to the sponsorship of the Bissell Pet Foundation as part of a nationwide Empty the Shelters adoption event.
