The barks and meows of dozens of dogs and cats can be heard up and down the halls of the McCracken County Humane Society.
The Paducah shelter – the only one in the far western Kentucky county – has been overcapacity for two years, with most of their around 120 dogs onhand sharing a kennel.
It’s not an uncommon problem. Animal shelters across the United States have struggled with overcrowding since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whitley Devary works the front desk and assists with adoptions at the McCracken shelter.
She remembers people coming to adopt in droves at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, at one time leaving the shelter – which accepts animals picked up by local animal control – completely empty.
“The issue kind of happened when everything restarted and people could go back to their regular jobs, or they couldn’t work from home anymore,” Devary said. “People actually brought their dogs back.”
The phenomenon of the “pandemic puppy” – dogs adopted when COVID-19 closures and case counts were commonplace – was very real. An ASPCA survey found that around 23 million households acquired a new pet during the pandemic.
According to the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, it is difficult for pet owners to access and afford veterinary care. Statistics show that it’s gotten harder to access and afford vet care, while a lot of aid and extensions of the social safety net – including things like increased SNAP benefits, Medicaid expansions, child care assistance, a student loan pause and unemployment insurance benefits – have come to an end.
“The price of everything is going up. It’s not just surgeries. It’s not just regular vet bills, you know, food’s going up. Everything’s going up,” Devary said.
McCracken County Humane Society is not the only one in the region struggling with this issue. The Humane Society of Marshall County has been overcapacity for the past year.
The Benton facility only takes in owners’ surrenders and pulls animals from the main county shelter to prevent euthanizations and overcrowding. Though the shelter is smaller – they currently have around 16 dogs and 10 cats – they are still feeling the effects of being overcrowded.
McKenna Isha, a local high school senior who works at the shelter, said working there can be emotional, but that being there is also stressful for the animals.
“Being in that cage, I mean, there’s ‘cage rage,’ and you see it a lot and it’s very tough,” Isha said. “Getting along with the other animals and not knowing where you are, it’s just very hard and stressful on them.”
Debbie Spicer, vice president of the nonprofit shelter’s board, said that this issue can be seen anywhere and everywhere.
“They either get surrendered or they get dumped on a back road somewhere, and somebody’s got to step up and be their voice because, if not, they’ve got nowhere to turn,” she said.
Shelter officials like Devary believe that spaying and neutering area animals is one way to prevent overcrowding. A local group, The McGangsters, regularly spays and neuters strays in the community to prevent the growth of large cat colonies. Along those same lines, the McCracken County Humane Society is planning to have a community spay and neuter program in early 2025.
“Female dogs will get out in the community. They’ll get away from them (their owners), and then when she comes back, they can’t take care of the puppies,” Devary said. “And the more puppies that are born in a year, the less people who are going to be able to take the next litter of puppies.”
Anyone interested in supporting or adopting from either shelter can learn more by visiting the McCracken County Humane Society and the Marshall County Humane Society websites.
