Dallas Animal Services is at about 115% capacity for dogs and 30% capacity for cats starting out the new year.
Those numbers had been even higher prior to a pet adoption event late last year.
Mary Martin, assistant director of Dallas Animal Services, said the shelter expected more animals to be brought in after New Year's fireworks, which often upset pets and cause some to run away. But she said the shelter is at one of the best capacities in a long time.
"Knock on wood," Martin said.
Dallas Animal Services has had free pet adoptions since March 2020. And an event held in partnership with Bissell Pet Foundation last month helped with overcrowding at the shelter, which made space for necessary flooring repairs in the shelter.
There were 369 dogs adopted along with 109 cats.
Martin said typically after a big thunderstorm or a fireworks event, like during New Year's or Fourth of July, the shelter sees increased capacity for a couple of days after.
A majority of those animals brought in are returned to their owners, but there are still pets found with no identification and no way of finding their owners, Martin said.
"It's still shocking to me, after 30 years in this business, that people don't have identification on their dogs, particularly," Martin said. "What I've told people is 'Put it on a piece of tape and stick it around your dog's neck if you don't have a collar' because there are financial constraints. Anything that will help them get home."
Martin said she recommends people look to their local shelters before bringing home a new pet.
A New Year's Eve event was held at Dallas Animal Services for the first time this year. Martin said around 280 people came to sit with the animals during the fireworks.
Four big dogs were adopted that night and two were fostered. Martin said she was thankful to the community for showing up and that they plan to hold a similar event for Fourth of July.
"We always just ask people to consider looking at us first," Martin said. "Think about your shelter, whether its our shelter or anyone else's shelter, before you make a decision to bring a pet into your family, give the shelter at least a chance."
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