Nearly 100 new pets brought to Orange County Animal Shelter in 1 day

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orange County Animal Shelter is grappling with an influx of cats and dogs, with nearly 100 new pets brought in within a single day.

The shelter in Orlando finds itself overwhelmed as it takes in more animals than it can accommodate, prompting a plea for assistance from the community.

Orange County Animal Services, facing an overflow situation, is urgently seeking to clear the shelter due to limited space availability. The volume of incoming animals far surpasses the rate at which they are being fostered or adopted out.

"There's a limited number our foster parents can take, so yeah, we're searching for people who are willing to hold animals," said a spokesperson from the shelter. "As much as we want to have animals safe and sound, there's only so many animals we can fit in here."

Currently, the shelter cares for over 600 animals, including 225 dogs and 111 cats housed at the main facility and numerous animals placed in assigned foster homes.

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The situation is exacerbated by the onset of kitten season, during which cats tend to have more litters. Additionally, recent weeks have seen two significant surrenders, one in Apopka involving a German Shepherd and other animals rescued from unsafe conditions, and another in Pine Hills, where law enforcement seized five dogs and arrested the owners.

As the shelter grapples with the overflow, officials urge the public to make efforts to locate owners of stray animals before bringing them to the shelter.

To address the crisis, the county is actively recruiting volunteers to assist with caring for the animals and is seeking individuals willing to foster or adopt. Adoption fees have been reduced to $10 for both cats and dogs, and a large adoption event is scheduled to take place in Plant City from Friday through the weekend, with the aim of finding homes for 150 animals.

For further details on the adoption event, interested parties are encouraged to refer to the news app for additional information.