Adopters needed to deal with doggie deluge

Back in the dog kennels at the Animal Humane Society, there's a feeling that something is not right with the world.

The Humane Society in the Twin Cities is in a canine crunch for the first time that officials there can remember. The society's five metro facilities are being overrun with dogs because of simple math: Many more are being surrendered than are being adopted.

This is something Humane Society folks expect with cats. Even rats. But dogs? Never.

With 275 dogs, the organization is at capacity and is having to double up dogs in the kennels.

"Last week, 60 dogs came in on one day, [and] 20 were adopted," said Deb Balzer, the organization's media relations and marketing manager. Compare that with last month, when 13 dogs came in one day, and 10 were adopted.

"That's a big difference. ... it's an anomaly," she said. "We're scratching our heads, asking, 'What's going on?' ... Something in the last three weeks has changed."

The doggie deluge may be occurring because smaller animal rescue groups and shelters have limited resources and are filling up quickly, Balzer said. "A lot of rural areas are getting hit hard," she said. There's also some speculation that the economy is proving to be bad for dogs.

"The No. 1 reason animals come to us is because people are having to move," Balzer said. And now they're seeing people move from their own homes into their parents' houses, or into apartments and, in some cases, shelters, she said.

That loss for one family can be another family's gain.

As people stroll through the kennels at the Golden Valley facility, puppy eyes and wagging tails pull at their hearts.

There's Lilly, a 3-year-old Weimaraner mix that was transferred from a smaller shelter, and Jolie, a 3-year-old pug-beagle mix that was surrendered because her owner couldn't afford her. And then there's Zee and Rock, a pair of 10-year-olds that are part Rottweiler, part Labrador and who-knows-what-else.

"I feel bad for them," said 11-year-old Anna Whitworth, who was strolling the kennels in search of a dog with her mom, Susan Tenney, of Spring Park. The mother-daughter pair are looking for a small dog to bring home to their townhouse. "Sometimes I like a used dog because they come potty-trained and broken-in a little," Tenney said.

'Not on death row'

"We usually have a nice, even flow of dogs coming in and dogs going out," Balzer said. Cats, who can have three to four litters a year, often are being surrendered by "buckets and boxes," so much so that the Humane Society often takes in 70 cats a day. "Cat overpopulation is a chronic problem," she said.

To combat the feline frenzy, Balzer said, the Animal Humane Society came up with the "Double the Love" program to get more cats into more homes by offering a sort of buy-one, get-one-free program for cat lovers. The society waives the adoption fee for the second cat, Balzer said.

At least once a year the cat population explodes, and the Animal Humane Society sends out a public plea for people to adopt a cat. And then, last year, the society resorted to a public plea when they were overrun with domestic rats.

"Rat people came out of the closet," to rescue the rodents, she said. And now for the first time that Balzer or anyone else at the facility can remember, the society has found it necessary to put out the call for dog adopters. "We get a lot of lookers," Balzer said. "Now it's time to buy."

Dogs need more time, space

Although the "Double the Love" offer is helping to balance the society's cat population, it's not something that would work for dogs, she said. Usually one dog is enough for most people.

"Dogs need more time, more space, more attention," she said. Cats, on the other hand, are a more independent sort that can be left alone and don't need to be walked, Balzer said.

With that in mind, Animal Humane Society officials don't want people to rush in and rescue a dog if they don't have the time, space and money to care for a pet.

"These animals are not on death row," she said. They could, however, be forced to double and triple up dogs in the kennels.

"And that's not healthy to keep dogs in a stressful situation," Balzer said. "We try to get these animals in and out as soon as possible. It's a health hazard for them to stay here too long."

Becca and Tom Anderson of Plymouth left the Animal Humane Society on Thursday with what they came looking for: a yellow Lab that will become Tom's hunting dog. And if the 8-month-old Lab doesn't cut it as a hunting dog, "she'll make a great family dog," Becca Anderson said.

These are the kind of people that Balzer and other Humane Society officials are looking for as they send out their public plea for dog adopters. "We're hoping that people who've been on the fence will come out now and check us out first," she said.

"We feel confident that people will respond," she said.

And if they don't?

"Then I will have lost my faith in humanity," she said. "It would shock me. And it would break my heart."

Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788