Dorchester Paws, facing overcapacity, reduces adoption fees

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Dorchester Paws says they are taking in 15 to 35 animals daily when they used to only take in between 10 to 20.

They say they are having a huge overcapacity problem, causing them to line up kennels in the hallways of the facility.

The adoption board was empty at the end of a normal workday Tuesday, something they say is not normal.

Danielle Zuck, the director of marketing and development, says they have seen a huge uptick in lost pets coming in. She says she thinks they are seeing fewer people adopting right now because times are hard and it’s hard to pay for a pet on top of everything else.

To combat this issue, the shelter reduced adoption fees to $50 for any animal, excluding puppies, through the rest of the month.

“Most of the time, animals when they’re lost, they’re within, you know, a few blocks, a few doors of where they actually live,” Zuck said. “So, we kind of need a community to champion this right now. ‘Can you foster an animal you found? Can you post it on the lost and found pages? Can you care for it and not have it enter our shelter?’ We’re really trying to ask the community to help us out right now.”

The Pet Supports Service Department is now open seven days a week to help reunite pets with their owners quicker to try and reduce capacity and find animals a loving home.

Here is what the shelter is doing right now:

• Reducing adoption fees to $50 for any animal (excluding puppies) for the month of August
• Reducing reserve fees on animals that just came to $50
• Lowering reclaim fees for pets to be reunited with their owner
• Asking the community to foster the stray animal until we have room
• Asking the community to post on local websites and pages and knock on doors if a lost pet is found
• Pleading for foster homes
• Contacting 501-3c rescues around the country
• Trying to avoid issuing a temporary moratorium
• Extending its Pet Supports Service Department to be open seven days a week to help reunite pets with their owners faster.

Dorchester Paws asks the community to share this post on Facebook.

For more information, visit dorchesterpaws.org

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