The Animal Care and Control Shelter in Charlotte, North Carolina, is facing overcrowding challenges after receiving 81 dogs within two days. According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), the animals arrived at the shelter between March 1 and March 3.
Charlotte Shelter grappling with space issues after 81 dogs arrive within 2 days
WSOC-TV reports that 39 dogs out of the 81 who arrived at the Animal Care and Control Shelter are from foster homes. Moreover, some of the canines are lost pets surrendered to the shelter.
Unfortunately, the Charlotte-based shelter has no extra space for the 81 animals. They are now appealing to the public to help foster or adopt the dogs. This will ensure the shelter doesn’t ultimately get overwhelmed by an overpopulation crisis.
Melissa Knicely, the shelter’s communication director, told the news outlet they’re renovating about 46 kennels at the moment. Consequently, they can’t house all the dogs in their shelter due to a limited number of kennels.
“They’ve already basically demoed everything, and now everything is kind of being built, so that’s good news,” Knicely shared.
Furthermore, Knicely estimates that these much-needed renovations will come to completion soon. For this reason, they’re also looking for people who can offer the dogs a “staycation” for the time being.
According to Knicely, a “staycation” is of great benefit for those who are conflicted about whether they should add a canine member to their family. She explained it can help one know what to expect when living with a dog under the same roof.
“If you don’t have any animals and you’re like, ‘Oh, I eventually think I would like to adopt a cat or a dog’, then this is always a good way to test the waters a little bit and get one, and you could always start with a staycation,” she stated.
