HSOY sees large influx in animal surrenders

The Humane Society of Yuma has been a way for Yumans to rescue animals in need of a new home.

However, throughout the month of January, they have seen a dramatic increase in not adoptions, but surrenders.

According to Lana Shapiro with HSOY, this increase is not typical for this particular time of year.

She hopes that with the help of the community, the shelter will be able to continue to care for animals in need and to place them in long term homes.

As of January 31, the shelter has seen 175 animals being surrendered by their owners.

In comparison to January of 2018, the shelter only saw 101 surrenders.

This number does not include strays, which makes this number of incoming animals even larger.

Though it may be hard to imagine why someone would give up their pet, Shapiro said many owners have a well-intentioned reason.

She said the main reason, is trust in the Humane Society.

“They trust the humane society to rehome their animals and so more people are coming to us knowing that their animals will have a positive outcome when they get turned into the humane society,” Shapiro said.

HSOY urges owners to work with the shelter, instead of leaving your pet to fend for itself.

Not only is it illegal to abandon an animal, but it puts an animal’s life at risk.

“Last week we had a situation where someone literally abandoned their dog here at the facility and tied their dog to a door in the middle of the night,” Shapiro said.

According to HSOY, in their history, they have seen that it is more common for dog owners to surrender their animal.

“Statistically, Shapiro said 20 cats came in as an owner surrender versus the 175 dogs returned,” Shapiro said.

“We know that dogs take more upkeep so behavioral wise if it’s just not a good fit for the home they just get given up more than cats do,” she added.

Shapiro says she wants owners thinking of surrendering their pet to know that the shelter specializes in connecting pets with a new home.

“The humane society is really good at placing animals into homes I reassure people that especially if they are adoptable, it might just not be that great fit, dogs are a lot of work and not every pet is right for that one home,” she said.

Shapiro says the shelter struggles across the board when the kennels become overcrowded.

In 2017, the HSOY invested about $300 per animal.

“We struggle across-the-board with staffing being stressed out and just a number of variables play into getting that animal in and out of the shelter”

In order to attempt to decrease this high amount of surrenders, HSOY has a re-homing resource.

“For people who can no longer take care of their pets for whatever great intentioned reason, we have an online resource now to help people rehome their pets without actually having to bring their pets into the shelter,” Shapiro said.

The transaction fee associated with the service is donated back to the shelter.

A minimal fee of $45 is charged per animal surrendered to help pay for its stay.

A questionnaire is also used to help the shelter determine the animal’s behavior.

The shelter says turning in medical records with the animal majorly helps the process.

Shapiro suggests researching the re-homing service and asking the shelter how much space is available before surrendering your pet.