The Animal Care and Control
Team Philly, the only intake shelter in the city, is overcapacity for dogs and is lowering adoption fees to $10 for all its pets through Friday in hopes to reduce overcrowding.
The shelter has over 250 pets at the shelter and another 300 in foster care, Executive Director Sarah Barnett said. All pets are microchipped, vaccinated and spayed or neutered prior to adoption.
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When the shelter reaches capacity, Barnett said pets get euthanized or timestamped — given a date in which they will be euthanized if they're not adopted.
"To be at the point where we're putting dogs in crates is really not good because that's not good for the dogs long term and it leads to behavioral issues and medical issues that are entirely preventable if we had less animals in the shelter," Barnett said.
For those thinking of adopting a pet, Barnett said she'd particularly love to see dogs Fiji and Gaia and cat Safari find homes.
Have you ever thought about fostering a dog or cat?? 🤔 Now is the perfect time to open your heart and home to an animal…
Posted by ACCT Philly on Thursday, June 6, 2024
ACCT is a nonprofit but is contracted with the City of Philadelphia as animal care and control to get dogs and cats off the street and take care of wildlife. The shelter struggles with space for dogs, Barnett said, and is housing about 125 when ideally it would have around 110.
"When you have to be open intake, you don't have the luxury of closing your doors and saying, 'Okay, we're going to commit to the animals in our care and just get them out first,'" Barnett said. "We would love to do that, but that displaces the [other] animals."
For those that don't want to bring another pet permanently into the home, ACCT also needs shelter volunteers and foster homes for large dogs and cats that have medical issues. Fostering helps the shelter learn about the animal so it can be placed in a good home, and it clears up shelter space so ACCT can take in more animals.
Financial donations help the shelter, too, Barnett said, but for those that don't have the resources, she said spreading the word can really help — whether it's about pets in need of homes or keeping others out of the shelter by sharing resources.
She also hopes that new pet owners will give their animals time to adjust to their new homes and spaces because it can be a stressful period for a dog or cat.
"If you're getting a new animal and you want to make it work, please give that animal the time and the support that they need to make it work because there's nothing more heartbreaking than when there's a surrender or return that could have been prevented if the person had simply given the animal more time," Barnett said.
This weekend, ACCT pets will also be available for adoption at the Mega Adoption Event in Newark, Delaware. Eleven local shelters teamed up and will offer $35 adoption fees on Saturday and Sunday for over 1,000 pets in need of homes.
ACCT is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 111 W. Hunting Park Ave. in Feltonville.
