On Friday, September 30th, Lassen County Animal Shelter Kennel Technician Jaime Proia made the following plea to the community:
“In an effort to be completely transparent, the staff at the Lassen County Animal Shelter would like to make an announcement and inform the community of a recent decision that was not made lightly.
“Due to the high volume of animals waiting to be surrendered and the constant flow of unwanted pets being dumped after hours, combined with rescue and shelter partners also being full to capacity and unable to pull regularly from our facility, staff has been burdened with the heavy, and emotionally taxing, task of euthanizing for space. This is a practice that has not been in use for years.
“Should you find yourself in a position that requires you to rehome a family pet, please attempt to find a new suitable home for your furry family member on your own first. There are currently over 50 dogs and 70 cats waiting to be surrendered to the shelter. Additionally, dumping these pets in the kennels after hours puts a major strain on the shelter and its staff, forcing their hands to euthanize for space in order to fit the new arrivals into the shelter, while also pushing people waiting on the list further back.
“Furthermore, if the pet you surrendered cannot find a new home or a rescue to pull him from our facility in a reasonable amount of time, he will be euthanized in order to make room for the next animal in need; we can no longer house animals indefinitely while they wait for the perfect family to adopt them. This is not a localized issue but a worldwide one.
“Surrender rates have skyrocketed and adoption rates have dropped. It has been a difficult journey for shelter/rescue staff everywhere to navigate and experience.
Here are a few options that the shelter staff recommends that you use before surrendering your animal to the shelter:
- Advertise your pet on 93.3 JDX’s Swap Shop, a local radio program that runs Monday – Saturday, 8AM to 9AM (530) 257-8255 / (530) 257-8256.
- Utilize social media to get your pet’s photos and bio out for many people to see. There are quite a few local FB groups that would be perfect to advertise your pet on.
- The Lassen Humane Society offers rehoming assistance. Simply email a picture/bio of your pet, along with your contact information, to [email protected]. They will do a courtesy posting of your pet on Petfinder.com.
Staff is available to answer questions/concerns during normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 9AM to 3PM. (530) 257-9200. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
