San Diego Humane Society holds free adoption event amid record number of animals
The San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) held an adoption event on Sunday at its main campus on Gaines Street in Linda Vista. Dozens of people lined up outside the facility as they waited for the doors to open at 10 in the morning.
The adoption campaign comes at a time when SDHS has been well over capacity when it comes to the number of animals in its care for the last 3 years now, according to SDHS Director of Public Relations, Nina Thompson.
“We’ve never seen this before when it comes to dogs. Right now we’re hitting the fourth month of records for dogs in our care,” said Thompson.
The adoption fees for all dogs were paid for by Kearny Mesa Subaru as part of Sunday’s event. NBC 7 spoke to a family of four who was looking to add a new pet to their home just in time for the holidays.
“We have a husky at home and we had another dog that passed away 3 years ago, and we’ve been thinking about getting a second dog,” said Marisol Betancourt.
SDHS said that on top of a record number of animals in its care, adoptions are also down 10% this year. Thompson said the word “strained” in the context of resources is an understatement, and pales in comparison to the reality of what the shelter is experiencing.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things, we think. We think the economy certainly has something to do with it. We have mainly large adult dogs in our care, but also a lot of desirable breeds. We know that with the large dogs it’s hard to move, they cost more,” said Thompson. “We’ve seen a lot of stray dogs come into our care and not get picked up by their owners.”
SDHS hopes the public steps up and helps change what has been a seemingly insurmountable pattern. Despite the persistent strain on resources, however, Thompson did note that the shelter’s Adoption Trial Program that launched in November has already seen some success.
“We’ve had a lot of pets go home on the adoption trial program and a lot of them have actually been adopted,” said Thompson.
The San Diego Humane Society is open for adoptions Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at all of its locations across San Diego County.
To find out more about the Adoption Trial Program, you can visit the SDHS website. The shelter said it is also welcoming people looking to foster.
