Contributed Photo / Violet is a mixed-breed female who has been at Chattanooga’s McKamey Animal Center for about a year. Many dogs have lived for months at the shelter, which is more overcrowded than ever before. The shelter is asking the community to help by adopting or fostering animals.McKamey Animal Center is asking for the public’s help to alleviate space issues at the shelter, where overcrowding is worse than ever before, Director of Advancement Lauren Mann said.
Although McKamey’s policy is not to euthanize animals because they have been at the shelter for a long period of time or to free up space, the shelter will have to euthanize adoptable animals if nothing changes, according to a news release.
“We’re at a breaking point, unfortunately,” Mann said by phone.
In May, 415 animals entered the shelter and 330 left. For the shelter to operate humanely, the number of animals leaving the shelter needs to equal the number of animals coming in, the release said.
More than 500 people are on the shelter’s waitlist for owner surrenders, which the shelter is no longer accepting due to lack of space, and the shelter continues to bring in at least a dozen animals a day from emergency calls, Mann said.