Stanislaus animal shelter director says city laws contribute to overcrowding, space issues
The Stanislaus Animal Services Agency’s shelter in Modesto is over capacity and has been all week, said its director, Vaughn Maurice.
The issue has been exacerbated by a spate of dog hoarding rescues this month, but Maurice said persistent overcrowding also can be attributed to city laws on how many dogs a household can have.
“There is no question that contributes to the issue,” Maurice said. “The city of Modesto has one of the lowest (pet limits) in the state and certainly in the country: two animals. That’s really a big hindrance for people.” In Turlock and Ceres, the maximum allowed is three dogs per residence.
Maurice said many residents have more cats or dogs than Modesto allows. But unless a neighbor reports them, this usually goes unnoticed.
Obviously, the extreme cases seen this month — more than 130 dogs rescued at three Stanislaus locations — are not only a detriment to the animals’ health and well-being, but in at least one instance to the humans living there. But Maurice feels Modesto should look at adjusting the max number to provide some relief. Stanislaus County’s pet limit is four per household, he pointed out.
As of Thursday morning, the shelter housed 285 dogs. Maurice said it could comfortably fit 183, meaning it’s a little over 56% above capacity.
The issue in Stanislaus County appears to be following a national trend. A report by Shelter Animals County, a national database for animal rescues, says intakes of stray dogs increased by 5% compared to 2022 and increased by 23% compared to 2021.
“We we really need to get these dogs out pretty quick,” Maurice said. “We can be overcrowded for a little bit. But having large dogs sharing a small kennel is just not very healthy or very safe. Behavior problems can develop, fights can break out. It’s just not a good situation.”
The shelter said it does everything it can to avoid euthanizing dogs. Stanislaus County has a 94% live release date, above the state average of 87%, according to Maurice. But it does happen. If animals are unhealthy or old, the shelter doesn’t have the funds or resources to save them, he said.
Stanislaus’ animal shelter flooded with rescued dogs. How the community can help
“We’re not going to spend $20,000 to help 20-year-old dog with cancer. So those are the animals — unhealthy animals, animals that have behavioral issues, that would be a danger in our community — that we do put down,” Maurice said.
Residents can assist in a variety of ways
There are ways Stanislaus residents can help mitigate the issue, though, including adoption. Maurice said a donor recently sponsored 20 of the shelter’s dogs that have been there the longest. Residents can adopt these dogs for free.
Outside of adoption, there’s also fostering. Residents can fill out a volunteer application, online or in person, and pick out a dog to take home. As this happens, the shelter said it would try to get the dog adopted out of the foster home and into a forever home.
“That frees up cage space. The dog is obviously much happier in a home than in a cage and a kennel shelter,” said Vaughn. “So it’s good for the dog while they’re waiting to get adopted. Something that a family can do to really help us out and it’s just a short-term commitment.”
Maurice added that it has plenty of physical donations — such as beds, food and other items — and what’s needed now are volunteers and monetary donations.
The shelter has been transporting dogs to other cities and states in an effort to free up space and said they also need volunteer drivers who can go to communities all over the West Coast and even to places like Wisconsin.
“If people would like to do other types of volunteering, they can also jump online and submit a volunteer form to fill out, they’re welcome to do that. We have all kinds of volunteer positions,” said Maurice.
