A Cry for Help
487 animals. 180 on the adoption floor, 87 in care, 220 in foster homes. Animals ranging from cats, dogs, kittens, puppies, livestock and rodents are residing at Wake County Animal Center, homeless and helpless. There are animals occupying every inch of the shelter, shoved in together like a pack of sardines as loud growls and whimpers fill the kennel room.
The horrific notion of euthanizing for space is becoming more apparent each day due to the overflow of animals entering the shelter and no place to keep them. This “solution” hasn’t been needed in eight years but is now approaching the shelter at an unstoppable and unavoidable pace, almost as if the dogs are being walked by the devil himself.
Dr. Avnee Mistry, veterinarian at the animal center, cares for the never-ending supply of animals at the shelter by nursing them back to health before hopefully being adopted. She said she often feels helpless because there are so many animals who need support.
The animal center, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is facing the issue of overcrowding due to the constant influx of animals entering the shelter. Without enough resources for these animals, the shelter will soon be forced to euthanize healthy animals in an attempt to create more space, a procedure that has been avoided since 2015. The issues of housing restrictions, high prices of veterinary care, breed bias and insurance policies are just a few of the countless reasons why the shelter is overpopulated.
“The worst thing is thinking that we may get to the point where we have healthy animals who we have to euthanize just because there's no space at the shelter for them,” Mistry said. “They just want a place to live. They just want a roof over their head, someone to give them food and have so much love in return for it.”
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WCAC rescues animals from various backgrounds, including those from trauma situations, evictions and homeless strays. The shelter treats and re-treat thousands of animals every year, according to the WCAC website.
Mistry represents her alma mater by wearing her North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine fleece, along with her blue latex gloves and her signature black hair clip. Mistry treats animals who are thrown out of vehicles, hit by cars, abandoned or beaten. Mistry said they see the best and the worst in people and how they treat their animals at the shelter.
“We see these people who come out and will adopt these animals and give them amazing loving homes, but we also see the worst in terms of people who cause intentional abuse to animals, neglect their animals and they leave their animals behind,” Mistry said.
As a 2022 graduate and newcomer in her profession, she brings a sense of playfulness where her childlike love for animals is clear. Her gentle, warm persona calms the animals, demonstrating that all she wants to do is make a meaningful difference for these strays.
“Our first and foremost goal is to care for these animals and provide support,” Mistry said. “They go from being these dirty, skinny little guys to full, happy healthy animals who then find homes. It’s really rewarding to see the majority of the animals really flourish under your care.”
However, her passion for treating animals and getting them adopted is becoming increasingly difficult as the shelter struggles with overcapacity.
Suzanne Comstock, a volunteer at WCAC since 2016, said she has seen the shelter change drastically over her eight years of volunteering. She said the volunteers used to walk 35 dogs a day but now walk upwards to 88.
“The amount of people giving up their animals, not being able to afford them, just letting them go as strays and not coming to reclaim them,” Comstock said. “It's heartbreaking.”
WCAC rescued 11,261 animals in 2019 and nearly 7,900 last year, but the length of stay for each animal has increased, said Meagan Frost, community outreach manager at WCAC.
“Since the pandemic, the length of stay for cats has increased by over one day and for dogs it has increased by over four days,” Frost said. “While we might be taking in less animals each year, which is still a good thing, these animals are staying for entire days longer than their pre-pandemic counterparts.”
Frost said a major reason for overcrowding is due to breed and size bans in rental housing units that force people to give up their pets. She said the most common size ban is 30 pounds and the four most common banned breeds are pit bulls, huskies, hounds and shepherds, which make up the majority of the dogs at WCAC. She said insurance companies will not insure various breeds due to breed specific biases where people believe certain breeds are more prone to aggression, such as pit bulls.
Frost said that The Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative found in August that 84.6% of rental properties advertised as pet-friendly, but only 6% had no restrictions on breed or weight.
Additionally, Frost said the cost of pet rent and veterinary care are unaffordable. She added that Wake County lacks spay-neuter resources, a procedure that prevents animals from reproducing.
“We've seen a $300 per animal non-refundable pet deposit,” Frost said. “And then we've seen anywhere from $10 to $50 extra per pet per month added to people's rent just to have a pet. And that is not helping anybody.”
Frost said North Carolina ranks as the third worst state in the country for animal welfare and animal sheltering.
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Due to the infinite animal welfare issues in Wake County, WCAC is approaching the need to euthanize for space.
Euthanization is the process of ending an animal’s life through an injection. The drug, phenobarbital, is injected into their veins and stops the heart quickly and painlessly.
Frost said 2 ½ years ago the shelter faced the same problem but was able to recover with the help of news organizations who publicized the threat of euthanasia.
After their most recent plea in October, no one showed up.
“I’d like to think that we keep fighting it, but we’ve been fighting for 2 ½ years and I can’t help but think that our luck is going run out,” Frost said. “I hope that the community is prepared for the reality of what this all looks like.”
During the euthanization process at WCAC, a representative of every department provides input about which dogs get euthanized. They take into account factors such as length of stay, behavioral quirks and medical conditions, and curate a list of 10 dogs.
“No one wants to be the one to do it and we have fought so hard and it just sucks knowing that it might not be enough,” Frost said.
Mistry said the biggest thing the public can do to help WCAC is to adopt.
“Whenever you're looking for a new animal, consider going to the shelter to adopt,” Mistry said. “These animals are full of love and kindness and happiness. They're all animals who deserve love equally.”