CT should pause on imported dogs, animal control officers say

HARTFORD — A nonprofit representing animal control officers in Connecticut is asking state officials to put a pause on the importation of dogs into the state, citing an influx of abandoned animals that have left workers in their profession “overwhelmed” and “fatigued.” 

Rachel Solveira, president of the Connecticut Animal Care and Control Alliance and the animal control officer supervisor in Stratford, has nearly 30 years of experience in the field. And she says it’s been years — if ever — that she’s seen conditions like this.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen such an overpopulation of animals in the municipal shelters,” Solveira said. “It’s significant compared to recent years. I haven’t seen a critical situation like this in many years.”

Just recently, Solveira said two cats were left in front of the Stratford animal control office. And they hear from a lot of people looking to place their pets in their municipal shelter.

“It happens regularly,” she said. “It’s really sad. We get calls several times a day with people looking to place their own pets in the shelter. If we have resources we try to help them. Most animal control facilities don’t have those types of resources. Unfortunately, it’s growing more significant by the day.”

In their statement, the nonprofit links this growing problem to the state’s housing crisis.

“Several factors have really come together to create this scenario,” she said. “There is a housing crisis in general in Connecticut. People are being displaced or they can’t find places that allow them to have pets. We’re seeing animals being displaced. With the economy and inflation, people can’t afford it. It’s unfeasible for residents to own pets.”

Other factors, like the end of the COVID-19 pandemic — when she said a flurry of adoptions happened — and people returning to in person work has also contributed to the problem. She also noted a shortage of veterinarians in the state combined with a rise in the cost of animal care as key factors.

But their biggest call to action is in asking the state to find a way to put a moratorium on the legal importation of animals — mostly dogs, but cats too — into the state. Solveira said that in the last fiscal year that the state’s 229 licensed animal importers brought in 1,434 animals into Connecticut to be adopted — and that’s only the ones imported legally. These animals, she said, usually come from southern states and are often put up for adoption in pop-up parking lot events. And that travel, she said, isn’t glamorous, as dogs often arrive to adoption events tired and stressed.

“They haven’t had a chance to decompress,” she said, adding that it can take up to three months for some dogs to become comfortable and safe in a new routine with humans. “They were driven for many miles and hours. We find them escaping from new owners. We find them biting new owners. We find owners not being able to handle them as well. These are animals in distress and they’ve been through trauma.”

Zilla Cannamela, the president and co-founder of Desmond’s Army, a nonprofit that works to serve the wellfare of animals, believes the condition that dogs are adopted in through these importers can lead to problems.

“We have all these importers that are bringing truckloads of dogs from out of state under the guise of rescue,” Cannamela said. “These dogs are being rescued sight unseen with no idea how they’re going to fit into a family. If these dogs don’t fit in the family and the rescues don’t take these dogs back because they’re from the south and they have nowhere to go… people don’t have anywhere to turn. So they’re dumping.”

As a lover of animals, Solveira said she wants to see these dogs be helped, but bringing them into the state, which is already seeing animal shelters and rescues at capacity, is only creating new problems. A pause in the process and a focus on adopting animals from municipal shelters could help slow things down.  

“I have great empathy and sympathy for these animals. I want to see them helped,” she said. “It’s not that we don’t care for these other animals who are being imported. I want to do everything I can to help them. But we have to not make more problems.”

Cannamela said in a perfect world that a moratorium would be issued. Realistically, though, she asks for a limit on the number of dogs that can be brought into the state.

Bryan Hurlburt, commissioner of the state’s Department of Agriculture, said in a statement that the state doesn’t have the ability to restrict licensed animal importers so long as they aren’t breaking any laws.

“Connecticut Department of Agriculture does not have any authority to restrict the importation of animals by licensed animal importers provided they are adhering to the conditions of their license,” Hurlburt said. 

Solveira’s message to potential pet adopters is simple: consider checking your local municipal shelter, because they might have the dog or cat for you to give a forever home to. And the breeds go beyond pit bulls that she said are often labeled as the stereotypical shelter dog.

“Lately, we’ve had less pit bulls and more of other types of dogs in our shelter,” she said. “We’ve got little terrier mixes, we’ve got an English bulldogs, huskies and more.”

Cannamela recommends that too, adding that an animal control officer like Solveira knows their dogs so well that they’re able to find the right fit for each animal.

“If you go to a pound, they have the experience and the knowledge to let somebody know if a dog is a good family dog or if it needs to be an only dog,” she said. “They’re excellent gauges at that. They don’t want their dogs to fail. They’re going to encourage you to meet the dog. They don’t adopt without you meeting the dog. And it’s more than once. You should go and see that dog two or three times.”

And like Solveira and Cannamela, Hurlburt does encourage residents to seek out pets from their local shelters, while also reminding residents with pets who are struggling to contact them for help.

“Connecticut residents are encouraged to visit their local animal shelters and municipal pounds when searching for a companion animal,” Hurlburt said. “For those who may be falling on hard times, we remind them to reach out for assistance. If keeping the animal is not an option, it is best to bring them to a shelter during staffed hours to share information giving the animal the best chance of finding a suitable new home.”

Being an animal control officer, she said, is already a taxing job. Calls come in throughout the day about all kinds of things, Solveira said, including a surge in bear sightings across the state. But add in dogs and cats being abandoned and left for others to find and Solveira says you end up with an overworked animal control officer.

“In an average every day regular amount of call volume, animal control officers are often short staffed and underfunded to begin with,” she said. “When you’re starting to bring in more and more animals without any more help it starts to become pretty significant. We’re just seeing animals being picked up off the street regularly because people are releasing them. We’re finding them abandoned in front of the shelter.”