Phoenix-area animal shelters filling up
May 25, 2009 4:00:00 am
- Associated Press
PHOENIX — Phoenix-area animal-control workers and advocates say they are scrambling to keep up with an increase in animals being abandoned by their owners during these tough financial times.
They are finding dogs refusing to leave their homes though their owners left weeks ago and hearing from more families who can no longer afford their pets.
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Kennels and cages are bursting with dogs and cats.
Officials with Maricopa County Animal Care and Control say that when shelters fill up, adoptable dogs and cats could be euthanized.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Humane Society reported a 15 percent increase in abandonment calls from 2007 to 2008.
Officials with the nonprofit animal welfare and protection agency says it's on track to see a 50 percent increase in those calls this year.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic
