ROANOKE, Va. – The Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection (RCACP) is currently facing an overcrowding issue, with around 100 dogs and more than 90 cats in its care. Shelters across the country, including RCACP, are grappling with an influx of animals and a shortage of adopters.
Vito, a 5-year-old dog at RCACP, is one of many animals awaiting a forever home. “He’s super playful, but he’s very, very sweet. He loves his time out in the play yard, so if you’re looking for a dog that wants to be active with you, it’s definitely going to be Vito,” Kennel Manager, Meghann Ramsey said.
Vito is just one of the approximately 100 dogs at RCACP who are in need of adoption, along with the shelter’s more than 90 cats. This overcrowding is part of a larger, nationwide problem affecting shelters.
“We’ve seen over the last few years many shelters getting full on animals, as strays, owner releases, and our adoptions are just not keeping up. And definitely we are not excluded from that. We are definitely seeing the same issues that we are seeing nationwide,” said Ramsey.
RCACP, an open-intake, facility, often faces an overwhelming number of strays, which contributes to the overcrowding issue. “We have a lot of dogs that come in here, cats too where they are owned animals but for some reason people don’t come and claim their animals. I don’t know why that’s happening, you wish they would step forward and be responsible for their pets, but it doesn’t always happen,” Ramsey explained.
open-intake
To help alleviate the strain, Ramsey emphasizes the importance of fostering, which allows pets to adjust outside of the stressful and anxiety-inducing kennel environment. “We definitely see that a lot.
We have a foster program here that we use all the time. So, we take dogs that are not kenneling well here, they go home, they are in foster care and then all of a sudden, they are a completely different dog. A dog that’s bouncing off the walls in the kennel will go home and be like the biggest couch potato,” she said.
Ramsey also encourages the community to consider adopting or participating in the Roanoke Adventure Dog Program, which lets people take dogs out on field trips.
“We have not been lucky this year, so we definitely need those adoptions from this adopt-a-thon that we are having on Saturday, so it’s really important that people turn out if you are looking for a dog,” Ramsey said.
The Pet Expo this Saturday at the Berglund Center offers another opportunity to help.
More than eight local shelters will be there, showcasing adoptable pets in an effort to find them forever homes.