The Fairbanks animal shelter is overwhelmed with surrendered dogs

One of astir 40 dogs astatine nan Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Shelter’s indoor installation connected July 17, 2024. (Dan Bross/KUAC)

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Shelter is astatine capacity for dogs, pinch constricted options for those that can’t beryllium adopted retired quickly.

Earlier this week, a chorus of barks and cries coming from dogs looking for caller homes filled nan shelter’s kennel rooms. The installation is seeing astatine slightest doubly arsenic galore dogs being dropped disconnected arsenic adopted out, said shelter operations supervisor Kimberly Imbert.

“Because group person occupation changes. They person unforeseen manner changes. Those are nan 2 large reasons that we’re seeing dogs coming in,” she said.

Imbert said nan business is different but successful statement pinch a nationalist trend. She said nan number of dogs surrendered astatine nan borough shelter presently exceeds nan indoor kennel capacity allotted for them.

“We prime nan number 26 because that leaves capable unfastened kennels truthful that we tin return successful strays, and we person 40 dogs indoors correct now, truthful we are wholly full,” she said.

The shelter besides has a fenced outdoor area pinch canine houses and tethers, but Imbert said for information reasons that’s only for dogs accustomed to being tied out. She said erstwhile capacity is tight nan shelter has to make reliable decisions astir which dogs are much apt to beryllium adopted.

“We person to look astatine their health, if they are spayed and neutered and their temperament,” she said. “And past erstwhile we are this full, there’s only a definite magnitude of surgeries that tin mostly beryllium done successful a time by our shelter veterinarian, truthful past we’re looking astatine who our fast-track take candidates, because if we tin get those spayed and neutered first, they tin move retired of present quicker.”

Imbert said nan shelter intends to find homes for each nan dogs and there’s besides nan anticipation of transportation to an animal rescue group aliases uncovering a foster home, but a grim reality comes into play.

“Euthanasia is nan astir businesslike measurement to make space, because putting a canine successful foster takes clip and if 1 canine comes successful we tin return that time,” she said. “If 5 dogs travel in, we’re successful a bind.”

Imbert encouraged group to effort nan borough’s online “Home to Home” platform to re-home their dogs earlier bringing them to nan shelter.

“Ideally you would scheme up and effort to re-home your animal yourself, because we only want to beryllium present for nan animals that truly, genuinely request us,” she said.

She besides noted that take rates astatine nan shelter up and down and she’s optimistic that they will prime up, emphasizing that nan process is reasonably simple, and starts pinch making an appointment.

“But we do judge walk-ins erstwhile there’s availability, truthful you travel in, you sojourn pinch nan animals, nan attraction unit goes complete everything we cognize astir nan animal, and we spell complete immoderate attraction instructions that we have,” she said. “If they’ve conscionable had spay aliases neuter surgery, they whitethorn request typical attraction for 2 weeks. And then, astatine that point, if you determine to adopt nan animal, you spell to nan beforehand desk, you show them your ID, salary nan take fee, motion an statement and you spell location pinch your animal.”

Imbert said nan shelter is offering half-off take fees for each animals this week.