Humane Societies in Kansas filling up

Puppies and kittens are cute and cuddly, but these days, no one seems to want them.  
     
Animal shelters are filling up across the state; most places we spoke with Monday say there is little or no vacancy for new animals.

The main reason: the economy.

"We've taken in about 1400 so far this year," said Kevin Stubbs, executive director of Caring Hands Humane Society in Newton.

The rooms there feel a little smaller these days.  "We've gotten a lot more large breed dogs in," he explained.  Golden retriever mixes, irish wolfhound mixes, even purebred labradors sit in kennels, waiting for a new home.  They are animals who once had a home.  "A lot more owner surrender compared to years past," Stubbs added.
     
"It's economically based," explained Jack Brand, also of Caring Hands. "People are moving out of houses and into apartments.  They're making hard choices about you know, whether to get medication or feed their animals."
     
Across Kansas, many shelters report the same thing.  Compared to last year, the same amount of animals come into the shelter, but fewer are adopted out.

"This does seem a little bit slower right now, and I can't tell if people are saving for holiday reasons, or recovering from back to school.  I can't put my finger on that," said Brand.

While many animal shelters across the state are pretty full right now, they're about to become even moreso.  The state took in 200 dogs from a breeder in western Kansas recently, and they're going to be dispersed to 10 different places across Kansas, including 9 dogs to Caring Hands.

"I think year to date, we've taken in about 119 of these types of seizures," said Stubbs.  So unless the current dogs get adopted out soon -- there will be no room at the proverbial inn for any other incoming dogs.

And cats historically have a lower adoption rate than dogs.  So while the feline rooms at Caring Hands are usually full, they could remain so for even longer.

"I don't know that there's a magic cure," said Stubbs with a shake of his head, "other than we work with rescue groups and other organizations, and get the message out that it's better to adopt than purchase an animal, and keep on trying as hard as we can."

As for those dogs relinquished to the state, Debra Duncan of the Kansas Animal Health Department said there are at least a dozen breeds.  She said the breeder voluntarily gave them to the state, but is still operating.  Duncan said the economy affected the breeder as well;  the market for purebred carin terriers, westies, fox terriers, mastiffs, dobermans, and the like dropped.

Caring Hands said the dogs will go to other shelters, including: Kansas Humane Society in Wichita, Humane Society of the Plains in Hays, Great Bend Humane Society, Lawrence Humane Society, Animal Haven in Merriam, Pawnee County Humane Society in Larned, Helping Hands Humane Society in Topeka, Cowley County Humane Society in Winfield and Salina Animal Shelter.