OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — OKC Animal Welfare says they’re getting overwhelmed with dog intakes this winter.
Shelter operations supervisor Brienne Grayson says normally this time of year, things slow down. Instead, Fox 25 saw the shelter had a sign on their doors December 3, saying they reached their capacity for the day.
Grayson says her staff is facing a problem they’ve been familiar with the entire year.
“Our daily limit every day is 30 dogs a day, and also 30 cats a day,” Grayson said. “Way too many animals [are] trying to come in our doors all day long.”
The shelter says they’re currently at 117% capacity for dogs in need of a loving home.
“We would love to see more people come adopt, help us solve this problem and provide places for these animals to go.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Grayson said her shelter is caring for 352 dogs. Their capacity is 290.
“We’re trying to house two dogs in one space. The reason we do that is because, one, they get a little bit of companionship and we get to learn about their behavior. Also because we want to save as many lives as we possibly can.”
To address this situation, the shelter encourages people to bring a new family member home.
“You have the option to come and basically foster one of our available animals.”
Grayson says one way this can happen is through the shelter’s “Home for the Holidays” program for dogs.
“If it will help get our kennels a little bit emptier for this time of year, that allows other animals to come in here who need it and have nowhere to go. It also allows us to provide more individual care to the number of animals that we have here instead of being constantly overwhelmed.”
That program runs through the end of the year.
Grayson says the shelter is at 60% capacity for cats.
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