With more than 100 dogs dropped off in the first week of the new year, the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission is over capacity and seeking help.
The shelter, located at 3839 W. Burnham St., received 110 dogs between Jan. 2 and 7. In total, it’s currently housing 225 dogs, Kate Hartlund, MADACC community engagement and volunteer coordinator, told the Journal Sentinel.
As a publicly funded shelter, MADACC does not turn away any animals, but the facility is “definitely not built for” for this number of animals, Hartlund said.
“It’s stressful on everybody in the building — the staff, the volunteers, the animals, the vet staff,” she said. “With overcrowding like this, it causes higher anxiety for the animals. It’s always loud, there’s always barking, disease spreads faster, poor behavior can rear up faster than normal.”
Though several recent cruelty and neglect cases have landed extra dogs in the shelter, Hartlund said the facility routinely has to operate at near or above capacity.
“It has never really slowed down,” she said. “When I first started here, back in 2018, I think our annual intake was about 8,000 animals a year, and we are pretty much close to 13,000 animals now.”
Here are the best ways you can help the shelter, from adopting an animal to picking up volunteer shifts:
How to pick up your lost pet
If you have a lost pet in the shelter, you can help immediately relieve capacity issues by picking up your animal.
Hartlund said people sometimes come in embarrassed they have lost their pet, but she emphasized the shelter is eager to return pets to their homes.
“I think there’s a stigma that goes with animal control,” she added. “I wish that we could get rid of that because bad things happen to good people. Good people lose their dog. It’s not just neglectful owners.”
As a government-funded shelter, MADACC is required to charge people licensing and rabies vaccine fees when they pick up their pet. However, Hartlund said the shelter is willing to adjust these fees when possible.
“We are willing to work with people on fees to get their animals out,” she said. “But you have to come in the building, and you have to actually show that you want your animal back.”
You can find pictures of lost pets at the shelter here, and more information about pick-up fees here.
How to adopt or foster a pet from MADACC
If you’re able to, you can also help out the shelter by adopting or fostering a pet. Milwaukee County residents can even do a five-day, “test-drive” adoption to see if an animal if the right fit for their home, Hartlund said.
Adoption hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends, no appointment necessary. Find more information about adopting or fostering an animal here.
How to volunteer at MADACC:
Adults over 18 and children between 13 and 17 accompanied by a guardian can volunteer at MADACC.
You can complete the online application form online here. Once your application has been accepted, you will be invited to sign up for an orientation, and volunteers must commit to a six-month schedule at minimum.
Other ways to help MADACC
Here are a few other ways to help the shelter:
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