On this edition Your Call, we rebroadcast our conversation about why animal shelters are overwhelmed with pets that are being abandoned or turned in by owners. Inflation, evictions, and economic struggles have made caring for a pet unaffordable.
There are 100,000 more pets in animal shelters nationwide than there were last year, according to Best Friends, an animal welfare organization. Some shelters are considering euthanasia for the first time in years. If you'd like to adopt or foster a pet, contact a shelter in your area. Some are waiving adoption fees.
Guests:
Karalyn Aranow, vice president of operations at East Bay SPCA
Dr. Kathy Mills, chief of shelter medicine at Contra Costa Animal Services
Web Resources:
East Bay SPCA: Adoptable Animals at East Bay SPCA
Contra Costa Animal Services: Contra Costa Animal Services Seeking Adopters and Fosters as Shelter Reaches Capacity
NPR: Pets are being given up by people who can't afford to keep them
CBS: Bay Area animal shelters overwhelmed by unprecedented number of pets being surrendered
USA Today: ‘Nationwide crisis’: Facing lower adoption rates, some shelters reconsidering euthanasia policies
