‘We’re pretty maxed out right now’: Orange County animal shelter battles overcrowding

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Animal Services needs help.

The shelter says it is well beyond the number of animals that the facility is intended to care for and every day more and more come in.

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Animal care assistant Jackie Early said the influx of surrendered pets has made for some tight quarters.

“We are pretty bad maxed out right now on kennels so we are starting to put three dogs, four dogs in a kennel now, which is not always the best situation,” Early said.

Animal services said nearly 100 dogs are given up daily with just about 20 going back out to a home.

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Currently, the shelter said it has 360 animals at its shelter, with 165 available for adoption.

With more pets being surrendered daily, the need for homes will only become greater.

In order to help with adoptions, animal services says all adoptions are $25 dollars and plans for adoption and foster events are in the works.

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Animal care workers say that if someone wants to help but can’t adopt a pet, fostering is another option.

Animal services said giving an animal a few days in a loving home not only helps lessen the strain on shelter resources but is better for the animals’ well-being.

More information on pets available for adoption and how to adopt or foster an animal can be found here.

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