‘A really dire place’: Even temporary fosters would ‘save two lives’ for overcrowded York SPCA
YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Many of them are chipped and well-groomed — yet abandoned.
Considering both the health/quality and the sheer numbers of dogs coming in, the York SPCA has rarely experienced anything like what has happened this month: more than 100 dogs taken in so far in March, compared to 88 dogs in all of March 2023.
“We have no kennels to put those dogs,” said Kristen Dempwolf, the organization’s communications director. “So that is just a really dire place for us to be.”
The York SPCA has 64 dog kennels.
“The thing that’s really alarming for us is that so many of these dogs show clear signs of ownership — either they have collars, they might be microchipped, they’re groomed well, they’ve been fed. These aren’t dogs that have been running around the streets for weeks,” Dempwolf said.
Yet no one is trying to claim them. After 48 hours, they’re eligible for adoption. New permanent homes are best, but right now, SPCA leaders will take any help they can get, including foster homes.
“When you foster a dog for us, you save two lives: the dog that’s in your care, and the dog that we now have capacity to care for at the shelter,” Dempwolf said. “So it’s really critical that our community steps up and supports us and helps us get dogs out of the building, even if it’s temporary.”
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Why are so many people abandoning their dogs?
Dempwolf said there’s no way to know for sure, but based on the reasons people give when they go through the official “surrender” process (as opposed to abandoning dogs on the street throughout York County), a common reason seems to be breed restrictions when they move from one home to another, and the new place doesn’t allow certain kinds of dogs. Those are commonly huskies, German shepherds and pit bulls, which — sure enough — are overrepresented among the dogs keeping the shelter so full right now.
For information about adopting or fostering a dog, visit York SPCA’s website or call 717-764-6109.
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