The shelter experienced snowstorms on free cat adoption days and had to cancel its mobile adoption events, resulting in slower adoption than normal during the winter months.
Spring is one of the busiest times of the year for shelters. An influx of animals has been brought in and are looking for homes, but the shelter might not be able to help them all.
Volunteer and Special Events Coordinator Ashley Hayes said the shelter was down 20 adoptions in January and February, which put them behind schedule.
“We are always prepared for the spring and summer to be busier, to have more animals coming in,” Hayes said. “But when you don’t get that down time with less animals in the shelter in January, February, March — once April hits you’re (stressed out) because all these animals have been building up.”
Hayes said the shelter has room for 100 cats and 100 dogs. The shelter does not turn away animals and if it becomes too full, they have to euthanize, or put down, animals.
“We’re an open-admissions shelter so we never know how many animals we’re going to get in a day,” she said. “Since we’re run by the government, a county-run facility, we have to take all the animals.”
Haslett resident Paige Corp said she had been bothering her mom to adopt a cat so she came in to take advantage of Whisker Wednesday, when cat adoptions are free and dog adoptions are half price.
Corp said another reason she visited the shelter to adopt was because she knew shelters can become overcrowded and occasionally euthanize.
Hayes said in 2013, the shelter did not euthanize any animals due to lack of space for animals and that is also the shelter’s goal for 2014.
One of the ways Hayes said they can prevent having to euthanize animals is by having people, especially MSU students, foster animals.
“The cool thing is (students) get to have that companionship of an animal in their home but they don’t take on the full responsibility,” Hayes said.
Having a full shelter can be overwhelming, volunteer Cinnamon Simpson, an Eaton County resident said.
“Being a foster (home), that’s the last thing you want to hear,” Simpson said. “I have several fosters right now but it just makes me want to take another one home.”
Hayes said by having a 30-hour adoption event in June at Potter Park Zoo and more mobile adoptions across Ingham County, hopefully adoption rates will increase.
