ROANOKE, Va. – An animal shelter or kennel is a great place for a dog or cat to stay if they need to get off the streets or if their owner isn’t able to take care of them.
However, many shelters across Roanoke Valley are starting to face overpopulation issues for a plethora of reasons.
One of the main reasons is that some people - while more than willing to adopt one or two animals - can’t bring an animal into their residence.
“They say I wish I could adopt or I have all these other pets or I live in an apartment, and I can’t or my landlord won’t allow it.” Roanoke Valley SPCA Marketing and Communications Director Julie Rickmond said.
Other times, outside interference forces an owner’s hand.
“Sometimes life happens,” Angels of Assisi Director Lisa O’Neill said. “Someone gets sick, someone in the household has to give, and often times, that’s the animal.”
The Roanoke Valley SPCA can hold up to 24 dogs and 24 cats. After recent renovations, they will be opening back up in early March.
Angels of Assisi has space for about 80 animals in their main building.
Space, however, will soon become limited for kennels across the region, which doesn’t bode well for the animals who will be staying there long-term.
“They’ve lost the only home that they’ve ever known,” Rickmond sid. “They come into this strange situation with smells, and they hear other animals around or strange people and noises.”
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Sometimes, animals will get sick due to overpopulation or even come into the kennel with a pre-existing medical condition.
The easiest solution to overpopulation issues is to spay and neuter your pets at home to prevent any accidental litters.
“When people don’t spay and neuter your pets, then we have an overabundance of pets,” Rickmond said. ”There’s just too many pets for the amount of people out there.”
Another option is to foster an animal. While this isn’t a permanent solution, it does get the animal out of the kennel while giving them a temporary stay en route to their forever home.
“If they go to a foster home, they’re off to a family that can be very involved and help them move onto their next home,” O’Neill said.
