OGDEN, Utah — An animal shelter in Weber County is issuing a call for help.
After years of operating as a no-kill shelter, the Weber County Animal Services shelter is having to put dogs down again in order to make room.
“It’s been great, but it’s not great anymore,” said adoption specialist Lisa Weiss.
Weiss said that as of right now, the shelter has 96 kennels to hold 111 dogs.
Some dogs have been at the shelter for over 100 days, including Max, a two-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier who hasn’t left since Feb. 20.
“For Max, he’s been here 176 days. It’s just not fair,” said Weiss.
Some dogs’ days are numbered. Max has until Sept. 26 to find a new home or else two years will be all he’s lived.
“This is the first time we’ve had to almost operate like a kill shelter again,” said Wess.
She said the shelter already put three dogs down last week.
“We work with a lot of rescues, but they’re just as full as the shelters are,” she said.
There was a big boom in pet adoptions caused by the pandemic, but now owners are dropping them off and giving up their responsibilities.
“It’s for life, and I don’t know that people truly understand that,” she said.
The shelter has lowered the dog adoption fee from $90 to only $25. Some dogs, like Max, are free.
The price for puppies is now $50 — a $100 decrease from the original price.
“We don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel right now,” said Weiss.
Weber County Animal Services is also full of cats, but not to the point where they need to euthanize them. Cats require less space and care than dogs.
The price to adopt an adult cat is now 50% cheaper: $10 instead of $20. As of Tuesday, cats that have been at the shelter for longer than 30 days are free.
Lee and Laura Miller were able to take home a Korat cat with no cost.
“He’s been in there since the first part of July,” said Lee.
“There’s lots of love to share,” said Laura.
