Chattanooga animal shelters hope to increase adoptions with waived, discounted fees

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / A litter of puppies scratch against the door to their enclosure at McKamey Animal Center on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / A litter of puppies scratch against the door to their enclosure at McKamey Animal Center on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022.

Like many animal shelters across the country, Chattanooga shelters are seeing an increase in intake and a decrease in adoptions.

In 2022, McKamey Animal Center has cared for more than 4,000 animals, which is 600 more than it had cared for during the same time period last year, according to a news release.

The shelter is now at 200% of its humane capacity, with more than 270 dogs and 500 animals total in its care and more than 100 pets up for adoption, McKamey Director of Advancement Lauren Mann said in a phone interview.

One reason for the influx is that so many people adopted at the start of the pandemic that the "market" for adopted pets is saturated, she said.

The economy is another factor, as more people are feeling financial hardship when it comes to owning a pet, Mann said.

"We're starting to see more owner surrenders and abandonment, unfortunately," she said.

The third reason Mann thinks so many animals are coming into shelters is that funds previously devoted to free or discounted spay and neuter programs were diverted to COVID-19 relief during the pandemic.

"We're almost at the point where we're reversing everything we've done in the last decade," she said of spay and neuter efforts that had been reducing the number of animals coming into shelters. "We're seeing tons of unaltered animals coming in and tons of puppies and kittens coming in that are not wanted by people and not expected."

According to the shelter's contract with the municipalities it serves, including the city of Chattanooga, McKamey is required to accept emergency cases and stray animals regardless of how many other animals are in the shelter, Mann said.

For every dog that's adopted, she said there are three to four other dogs waiting to fill their kennel space at McKamey.

"We try to do everything we can to pause owner surrenders," she said, adding that the shelter now has more than 400 animals on its waiting list for owners who want to surrender their pets.

Best Friends Animal Society, a national organization with a goal of making all shelters across the U.S. no-kill shelters by 2025, is holding its third national adoption weekend this year to help relieve the crisis its partner shelters are experiencing.

McKamey and the Humane Educational Society are both participating in Best Friends' national adoption weekend Friday through Sunday.

During the adoption event, McKamey is waiving adoption fees for most of its adult and senior dogs and cats. Adoption fees typically range from $50-$300 depending on the animal's age, breed and type, according to a news release.

Adopting an older pet has advantages, Mann said. Most have already lived in a home, so they are typically potty-trained, quiet and well behaved, and may understand a few basic commands.

"They're just looking for a place to call their own, where they can just decompress," she said.

All dogs and cats are spayed or neutered, microchipped and given parasite prevention and age-appropriate vaccinations before leaving the center, the release said.

"We understand not everybody can adopt, so if someone is open to fostering as a temporary solution, we're always happy to have fosters on board," Mann said, adding that new volunteers and supply and monetary donations are needed as well.

People also have the option to take a dog out from McKamey just for a day, which gives the dog a chance to leave their kennel and an opportunity for socialization that makes them more likely to be adopted, Mann said.

The Humane Educational Society is offering free cat adoptions and half-price dog adoptions this weekend, according to a release.

(READ MORE: Humane Educational Society moves into new $13 million facility in Chattanooga)

"We are participating in this event to raise awareness that shelters have seen an influx in animal intakes this year," Adrienne Koon, director of administration at the Humane Educational Society, said in the release. "We have adopted out hundreds of animals but have taken in even more, and it's been going like this since spring of this year, and it's like this everywhere, not just in Chattanooga.

"We need the public to be aware of the crisis and encourage spay/neuter, re-home animals themselves so the animal never has to enter a shelter and to sign up to foster or apply to adopt today."

Because not all animals up for adoption are "on display" at McKamey, Mann suggests visiting McKamey's website to see all available animals at bit.ly/MckPets22.


IF YOU GO

McKamey Animal Center is at 4500 N. Access Road and can be reached at 423-305-6500. Shelter hours are noon to 6 p.m Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Humane Educational Society is at 4155 Randolph Circle and can be reached at 423-624-5302. Shelter hours are noon to 5 p.m Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information visit heschatt.org.

Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.


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