A national trend is unfolding across several Greater Houston area animal shelters as canine populations continue to climb, yet adoption rates of these furry friends are faltering.
“Dogs are harder because they’re bigger. Many of the dogs [BARC] has come from the fields through our enforcement team, so they might not present well,” Cory Stottlemyer, BARC’s deputy shelter director, said.
“They could be perfectly sweet dogs that take a little training to become a family member,” he added. “But, this is the first time for many of them to walk on a leash, be in a kennel, or be around many humans.”
According to Stottlemyer, Houston’s animal shelter and adoption center currently houses 334 dogs and about 54 cats. This is an alarmingly high number of dogs – about 16 away from the shelter possibly needing to install pop-up kennels to meet the overcapacity needs.
He said cats tend to be more adoptable and usually find placements soon after entering the facility, which poses challenges amid the influx of dogs that shelter workers are trying to get out.
“It’s hard to find outcomes for them [dogs], and on top of that, I think there are more strays overall,” Stottlemyer said.
Macey Kohne-Sanchez, assistant marketing manager with the Houston Humane Society, said the shelter is seeing a downward trend in adoptions – notably dog adoptions – that has stayed consistent over the past year.
“Kittens are going home the second day they hit the floor. Even older cats are finding homes within days of being available for adoption,” Kohne-Sanchez said. “Where we have large dogs specifically that wait eight months – if not a year or so – for their forever homes.”
She added that this could be occurring for several reasons, including the level of care required in cats versus dogs and the financial commitment of owning canines over felines.
Kohne-Sanchez said if an owner has a cat at home, all they have to think about is leaving out water, a litter box and a time-feeder machine. Whereas, if someone owned two larger dogs, they may be looking at $100 a night at a boarding facility to ensure they’re okay.
If a person works long hours too, they may be worried about their dog staying in solitude and chewing up the furniture or acting out, while cats usually thrive in this condition.
“I think that people don’t realize that there are things that you can do to occupy your dog’s mind while you’re at your job or to make sure they’re still living a full and enriching life when you aren’t home,” she added.
Many local shelters turn to rescue partners outside of the state or region to attempt to find placements for the growing numbers of dogs in their facilities.
According to Montgomery County Animal Shelter Director Aaron Johnson, the facility currently cares for more than 495 dogs. He said there is usually a “wintertime lull” for the shelter, but the sheer volume of dogs they are housing does not make this the case this year.
Johnson said cats are not presenting challenges, with only nine currently in the facility. The shelter relies on coordinating as many transportations to Northern states as possible to reduce the canine population.
However, he added that this practice poses a problem, as these shelters also have to combat the growing numbers of dogs they have to take in locally.
“If they [rescues] don’t have the capacity, they’re going to deal with their capacity and their intake first, and then we’re [Texas shelters] the added additions that they help when they can.”
Stottlemyer said most of BARC’s outcomes are also from rescue partners, amid the facility receiving well over more calls requesting animal intake or assistance. Within the last year, the shelter received 7,000 more calls than during the year prior.
He added that rescues play a key part in the facility reporting more adoptions and rescue outcomes this November than last year. Extending adoption hours, providing incentives to employees who foster neonatal kittens and other in-house initiatives have also helped get animals out.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
