KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City animal shelter is warning its walls are overrun with four-legged animals as the cold weather continues.
Kansas City Pet Project announced Wednesday that staff had adopted out 40 dogs. The shelter is currently full. They said if some dogs cannot find new homes, KC Pet Project may be forced to euthanize them.
Fugate said the shelter is in crisis due to the drop in adoptions due to colder temperatures, as well as the high number of calls and pets being received.
“We are working at full capacity. There are many dogs who are at risk of being euthanized just because they have a full stomach. That's why we're asking the community for help,” Fugate said. .
“The last thing we want to do is have to euthanize to make room, but as a city shelter we need to have empty kennels available for all of these dogs. .”
At 3 months old, Freckles is still a puppy, but the other dogs have been at the shelter for more than 30 days.
Fugate said extreme winter weather is causing mass pet intake. All kennels are currently full.
“Our phones keep ringing off the hook from people concerned about these animals that are out there, and rightly so,” Fugate said.
“These temperatures are very dangerous. They can be very dangerous for animals. Without proper shelter to get in and out of these environments, animals can survive at these extreme temperatures. You could die.”
The shelter receives hundreds of calls every day about dogs being ignored and left out in the cold.
“In the first 18 days of January, general ignored calls increased by 173% compared to all of December,” Fugate said.
Fugate said they had 89 cases in December and have worked on 250 cases so far this year.
Fugate said officers have executed four warrants in the past two weeks to protect 10 animals from the cold.
“We expect the number of calls to continue to increase, especially given this cold weather and possible snowfall expected this weekend,” Fugate said. “Every time that happens, the value goes up. So if you can, bring your pet indoors.”
The KC Pet Project has several special features about pets. If you would like to adopt a furry friend, please visit our website here.
