MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) —
Every summer, the City of Mobile Animal Shelter sees an influx of animals coming to the shelter, according to the city’s animal services director, Robert Bryant.
Right now, the shelter is thirty-five dogs overcapacity. Just a few days ago, that number was up to more than sixty dogs overcapacity, which is unusually high. Bryant says this not only puts a strain on employees, but the animals who stay there too.
“An animal shelter is stressful for animals. You know you can hear all the barking in the background, and you think that is what the animals hear every day,” he said.
The City of Mobile is currently in the design process of building a new animal shelter on Montlimar Drive. Bryant says the city is currently working to find ways to reduce the cost of the facility. Even with the additional capacity the new facility could provide, Bryant says it is not always the answer to the influx of animals the shelter is seeing now.
“If we could really focus on ways, if citizens can go out, and tell their neighbors, tell their friends, hey, go get your dog fixed. Get it spayed, get it neutered, get it microchipped. That way we are not reproducing all these unwanted animals, that is what is going to really solve the overpopulation issue,” he said.
The main way a new shelter will help the city’s animal services is with placements, according to Bryant. The new facility will be more inviting to those interested in adoption or the foster program.
“When you come up to our current shelter, it’s on a side road that most people drive by and never even know exists. So that is one of the hopes with the new shelter, that will help us place animals faster. So, whereas it will have a little bit of increased capacity, like I said, capacity is not the answer. The answer is getting animals out and then making sure they do not come in,” he said.
Bryant says people can help the shelter and the animals it cares for by fostering, adopting, and volunteering. The shelter is offering $31 dog adoptions during its Happy Howl-O-Ween event throughout the month of October.
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