Humane Society seeks community help for capacity crisis
Saturday is National Adopt a Pet day, and the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society is hoping it will bring some relief from the overcrowding they have seen during the month of April.
There are no more available kennels, and the shelter is turning to the community for help – even if they cannot adopt at this time.
“We have no empty kennels,” said Taylor Smith, the shelter’s adoption coordinator. “We’re supposed to keep ten kennels open at all times for animal control, but we don’t have any open kennels for animal control right now. We cannot take any stray animals from the public. We cannot take any owner surrenders. We cannot take any cats. We cannot take any dogs.”
“We have dogs in kennels where there are two animals in each kennel. We have dogs in pop-up crates, and we have gone two weeks with only two adoptions.”
The Humane Society is asking for volunteers to take shelter animals for outings during the day wearing “adopt me” vests. Not only do they say this can help the animal meet potential adopters, but it can help socialize the animal and give it a break from the shelter environment, which many animals find stressful.
“If people can’t adopt right now but want to help, they can take a dog out with an ‘adopt me’ vest and an ‘adopt me’ leash for a few hours and go to the beach, or to eat lunch downtown or anything like that,” Smith said. “Or they can foster for an overnight or for a few days to give the dog or cat a little break from the shelter.”
The Humane Society is also in need of long-term foster placements for shelter animals, which might help them free up some space for incoming dogs and cats, who have to go through a thorough evaluation before being put up for adoption.
The St. Joseph Bay Humane Society is a no kill shelter, meaning they do not euthanize the animals in their care unless medically necessary or due to irreparable behavioral issues that compromise the animal’s quality of life.
To volunteer to take a dog for an outing or to foster an animal, please visit the Humane Society located at 1007 Tenth Street in Port Saint Joe or call 850-227-1103.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.