The San Diego Humane Society recently announced it will not receive any more owner-surrendered dogs through the first half of January.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the shelter group has been “faced with full shelters, less kennel space due to renovations, and a canine distemper outbreak,” over the last year. In turn, this has created a perfect storm of factors leading to overwhelming dog numbers. In December, the Humane Society had over 600 dogs in its care, an all-time high. Altogether, the Society runs four shelters in the area, located in San Diego, El Cajon, Escondido, and Oceanside.
A Flurry of Surrendered Dogs, Vulnerable to Infection
As of now, the pause is a temporary stop-gap measure, scheduled through January 15th, 2023. Although adoption numbers have gone up by 30 percent over the past year, the amount of surrendered dogs is outpacing adoptions significantly. “We are taking in two dogs for every dog that is adopted out,” said Nina Thompson, a Humane Society spokesperson. In 2022, the Society took in over 14,000 dogs. Contrastingly, people only adopted 7,378 dogs.
One of the group’s challenges has been a recent outbreak of canine distemper. The highly contagious virus claims more dog lives than any other disease and can have serious negative health outcomes. Already, nine dogs have tested positive for the virus. The outbreak was another reason behind the intake pause. Earlier in 2022, the society made a similar move in response to a canine pneumovirus outbreak—another serious respiratory disease.
A Widespread Issue With No Easy Solution
Unfortunately, the surge in adoptable dogs is not exclusive to the Humane Society. Nationwide, shelters are buckling under pressure as dog parents respond to inflation and other situational factors. Kelly Campbell, Director for the county’s Department of Animal Services, says their two shelters are also dealing with “‘an unusually high inventory’ of dogs.”
However, the San Diego Humane Society says it will always make exceptions for surrendered dogs whose health is at stake or who are experiencing an emergency. Additionally, they’ve explored creative measures to increase their capacity, including turning classrooms and vacant warehouses into temporary shelters. In the end, though, more parents need to open their homes to one of these precious dogs.
