DANVILLE — Many animal shelters are at capacity and struggling, especially during the winter months when adoptions often slow.
Kristen Szwast, site director at the nonprofit Danville Adoption Center of the Pennsylvania SPCA, said though adoptions slow down in the winter, the staff at the shelter tries not to encourage people to adopt pets as gifts.
“People are spontaneous and go through the honeymoon phase for a few weeks,” Szwast said. “Then get to the stage of housebreaking and chewing and start having trouble.”
In these cases, the whole family is not prepared for the responsibility and work that comes along with caring for another living thing in the household, Jordan Radziewicz, kennel attendant at the Danville SPCA, said.
“People can be unprepared,” she said. “Pets aren’t a gift for a 5-year-old. They’re a lifetime commitment.”
The staff at the Danville shelter tries to give families resources to help keep pets in their homes, according to Szwast. To avoid situations like these, Swazt said she encourage potential adopters to bring the whole family to the shelter.
“We recommend people bring the whole family here before adopting,” Szwast said. “We want to make sure the pet is good with the kids.”
Prior to heading to the shelter, it’s important to decide whether you want to adopt a dog or a cat as each demand different needs. “You have to be both mentally and physically prepared,” Szwast said.
The site director also recommended heading to the Danville SPCA website to see what they have available at the time.
The Danville center is open seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m. and an appointment is not necessary, according to Szwast, who added the shelter offers same-day adoption.
Information about the adoption process and fees is available on the SPCA website. Costs to adopt cats range from $85 to $150 and dogs from $300 to $450, according to the site.
A unique thing this year is a long-lasting kitten season, according to Szwast. “Kitten season has stretched longer,” she said. “We still have a whole bunch of kittens here.”
As of Tuesday, the Danville shelter was at full capacity with cats and had 27 waiting for adoption, Szwast said.
Some of the cats available are “special adoptions,” like Louie, a 7-year-old diabetic kitty. “In those cases, it has to be a good fit,” Swazt said.
The shelter was also at full capacity with dogs on Tuesday and had a wide range of small to large breeds, according to the site director.
Pandemic pets
Shelters at max capacity are a nationwide struggle. The number of animals entering shelters began to climb in 2021, after a pandemic-related dip. Adoptions haven’t kept pace with the influx of pets creating a snowballing population problem for many shelters.
Shelter Animals Count, a national database of shelter statistics, estimates that the U.S. shelter population grew by nearly a quarter-million animals in 2023.
The issue is sometimes blamed on owners abandoning “pandemic puppies” purchased during the COVID-19 lockdowns. But advocates and operators say the evidence actually points to economic factors such as higher pet care costs and housing insecurity.
“The economy right now is really challenging for a lot of families,” said Kim Alboum of the Bissell Pet Foundation, a national animal welfare organization. “And with the housing crisis, people are losing their homes and are having to downsize or move in with others. And this is a recipe for disaster for people that have larger dogs.”
Increasing adoptions is especially crucial, argued Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle, saying that millions of people buy new pets each year even as hundreds of thousands of animals die in shelters.
“We know people are going to get pets, so let’s go back to the basics of really … marketing adoptions because at the end of the day, we are in a competitive space with breeders and pet stores,” Castle said.
Adopting from a shelter can have many benefits. SPCA shelters offer spay or neuter surgery, microchips with lifetime registration, deworming, age-appropriate vaccines, rabies vaccines (for animals 3 months & older), flea & tick prevention, medical evaluations, behavior evaluations and more.
“All of our animals are fully vetted,” Radziewicz said. “Sometimes, backyard breeders are just in it for the money.”
Radziewicz stressed the importance of supporting local animal shelters. “Get out and support local shelters, not just here in Danville, but anywhere,” she said.
The Danville shelter hosted several “Clear the Shelter” events throughout the year, during which adoption fees were waived.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
