Athens Dog Shelter battling long surrender list
By: Charlie Ihlenfeld
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CHAUNCEY, Ohio (WOUB) – The Athens County Dog Shelter has been dealing with a distressing combination of long surrender lists combined with low adoption rates.
“Space is at a premium,” said Chief Dog Warden Ryan Gillette. “Sometimes it is very difficult for us to make that accommodation.”
The shelter was taken over by the Athens County Sheriff’s Office in 2019, and during the pandemic, the shelter had one of its best years.
“Honestly, I don’t know when there will be an end to it,” said Gillette. “Because once we get two or three (out), we’re bring them in just as quickly.”
The strain has affected foster families for dogs too. Berkeley Franz, a board member for the Friends of Shelter Dogs, says the volunteer network is stretched thin.
“It’s just constantly exhausting,” said Franz. “Our volunteers are worn out and tired from just the stress of being really close to being full on the shelter.”
Given this situation, another problem the Friends of Shelter Dogs has worked hard to eliminate might be a realistic concern again: euthanasia.
Franz said they were nearly faced with this prospect as recently as May. The Friends of Shelter Dogs have been able to reduce the euthanasia rates at the shelter by about 80 percent since being formed.
“We have not had to euthanize for space in years. But we’ve come really close. I would say at least five times in the last two years,” said Franz.
Both Franz and Gillette lauded each other’s organization, and they both made it clear they know their counterpart is struggling to keep up with the problem.
“They (Friends of Shelter Dogs) are awesome at coordinating these things,” said Gillette. “We’ve always been able to work with them to keep from going over the breaking point. But, having that backlog of people … gets us right back to the red line.”
“It’s important to emphasize the amount of trauma shelter staff experience because they see this day to day,” said Franz. “People bring in dogs in really bad shape because people neglected them and couldn’t take care of them.”
Both Gillette and Franz say the long surrender list and overcrowding are largely driven by economic concerns.
This includes an increase in costs for pet care, including vet visits and medication. Over the last decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found the cost of vet care has risen by 60%.
The low adoption rates cut into the ability of the dog shelter to do their vital work. The shelter is self-reliant, so keeping the lights on and salaries paid is done with adoption fees and dog licenses.
While there are larger economic problems in play, Gillette and Franz emphasized the need for people in Athens County to get their dogs spayed and neutered to help keep the population under control.
“If you get them spayed or neutered, then this wouldn’t be a problem,” said Gillette.
Franz said many people believe they can make money from their dogs by breeding them, adding to the issue of overcrowding. She said there is also misinformation about the effects of breeding versus spaying and neutering dogs.
“Letting your dog have one litter increases their chance of having mammary gland cancer,” said Franz. “And it only increases with each litter. Same for males too.”