Community Animals Services, the Lethbridge Animal Shelter is dealing with excessive overcrowding as a result of pets not being claimed when brought to the facility.
As of today, Community Animals Services is operating over it's capacity for care levels. As a result, they have issued a managed intake system for strays and have suspended pet surrender intakes at this time. Overcrowded conditions for both cats and dogs can lead to excessive stress, and the potential for illness if housed in close proximity without suitable health measures in place.
Community Animal Services is asking residents to contact them if you're currently missing a pet that may have been found and brought to the shelter. Both stray cats and dogs are not being claimed in the allocated hold time from admittance, meaning the shelter needs to prepare them for adoption by getting them spayed/neutered, up-to-date on vaccines and other health matters in order. This takes time, and is more difficult to complete when there is overcrowding and other animals requiring urgent care.
This trend is being seen across the province, including Lethbridge.
At this time, if you find a stray pet in your neighbourhood and it is not a risk to you or the public, please make every effort to locate the owner before turning it over to animal care services. Tips for temporarily sheltering strays and locating owners can be found here.
If you're looking for an addition to your family, consider adopting a pet from Community Animal Services, or a local rescue organization to help ease the pressures of overcrowding.
