They say in the past six years, last week was the closest they came to almost having to euthanize a dog.
HAWKINSVILLE, Ga. — In Pulaski County, animal control said they haven’t been this stressed from a lack of adoptions in the past six years. Last week, the problem got so bad, they almost had to euthanize adoptable dogs.
Chandra Toledo, the manager at Hawkinsville-Pulaski Animal Control, said adoptions started slowing down since COVID-19, but it’s been especially hard on them over the past few months.
“Rescues are struggling to get adopters, so then they can’t pull from the shelters so we’ve had nothing to move,” Toledo said.
Toledo said normally animal rescues from all over, like Dublin, Perry and Cochran, help find homes for their animals.
“Everyone is struggling. Rescues, shelters — things aren’t moving like they used to. You have rescues folding; donations aren’t coming into them. Fosters aren’t going into the rescues, which then directly affects the shelters,” Toledo said.
Last week, they had 17 animals at their facility which only had 11 cages. On top of that, they were trying to trap a semi-aggressive dog in the county, that they had no more room for.
Because that dog was a safety threat, they had to consider euthanasia for adoptable dogs to make more room.
“We have stayed full and don’t have a — I mean, you move one dog, and get two more in that same kennel. There’s been no release of any of the pressure,” Toledo said.
That’s why she made a Facebook post last week, pleading with people to come adopt so they wouldn’t have to euthanize. Thankfully, it worked and they didn’t put any dogs down.
Volunteer Melissa Hall said putting any dogs down is the last thing they want.
“These are healthy, wonderful animals that don’t need to be euthanized. They need a family and they deserve a family, they deserve a happy life,” Hall said.
She said in the past, she had to accompany a dog to be euthanized, and it was heartbreaking. That’s why she always encourages people to spay and neuter their pets, to avoid the overpopulation of shelters.
“And if you spay and neuter, then we don’t have these problems and it’s very simple and there’s lots of low cost options available,” Hall said.
We reached out to the City of Hawkinsville to see if they’re doing anything new to help with the animal overpopulation problem.
City Manager Sarah Myers told us they’re currently looking into opening a bigger shelter next year. She said it’ll have twice as many cages as their current one. Myers said the county will pay for half of it, and the city will use SPLOST funds to pay for the rest.
Hawkinsville-Pulaski Animal Control has a fundraiser coming forward to help support their work. They teamed up with Tap and Pour in Warner Robins to have a dog show on Saturday, April 13, at 1:00 pm
Activities Included:
-Dog show competition (categories: best dressed, most talented, cutest puppy, and more)
-Pet-friendly games and prizes
-Delicious food and refreshing drinks for humans
For more information, call 478-225-2220.