Overcrowded animal shelters ask for help to find homes for dogs, remain ‘no kill’ shelters
By Jim Gaines
Animal shelters in DeKalb and Fulton counties have hundreds more dogs than they can handle, and are calling for more adoptions and foster care to keep from having to kill them.
“Atlanta, we are at yet another critical moment as we head into this weekend with severely crowded shelters,” LifeLine Animal Project announced Friday. LifeLine is the nonprofit agency that manages animal shelters in both counties.
LIfeLine strives to operate “no-kill” shelters, adopting out almost all the animals it gets. But now there’s nowhere left to put new intakes, which are overwhelmingly dogs. As of Friday, the group needed to find homes for at least 480 dogs within two weeks.
In Fulton County, the main shelter on Marietta Boulevard and the overflow location in Midtown Atlanta are packed, according to an announcement from Timyka “Tiki” Artist, PR manager for LifeLine. The DeKalb shelter is taking in more dogs this year than last, mostly strays; but fewer families are reclaiming them, she said.
Fulton County’s main animal shelter is 45 years old and was not built to facilitate adoptions or long-term stays. This fall it will move into a new $40 million building that’s three times as large.
The main Fulton shelter, built for a maximum of 150 animals, held 350 dogs on Friday; while the Midtown overflow had 80, according to Artist’s announcement.
The DeKalb shelter, built for a maximum of 450 dogs, had 490. And LifeLine’s own Community Animal Center in Atlanta had 61 dogs.
For every two animals in a shelter there are about three in short-term foster homes. LifeLine’s website currently lists 1,329 animals available for adoption, distributed between shelters and foster care: 1,161 dogs, 166 cats, one rabbit and one snake.
LifeLine posted follow-ups Monday on each county’s animal services Facebook page. DeKalb fostered or adopted 23 dogs by Monday, but the need to place 200 more remained.
Fulton’s shelters adopted or fostered out 28 pets in that time, but still needed to find homes for 200 more.
To adopt or foster animals go to www.fultonanimalservices.com, www.dekalbanimalservices.com or www.lifelineanimal.org, or go to any of the following locations:
- Fulton County Animal Services, 860 Marietta Blvd. NW, Atlanta
- LifeLine Animal Project Midtown, 981 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta
- Community Animal Center, 3180 Presidential Drive, Atlanta
- DeKalb County Animal Services, 3280 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Chamblee
Read the original story on AJC.com.
