The Unhoused Animal Crisis in Atlanta
We already know about the housing insecurity crisis in the U.S. and Atlanta is definitely no exception. However, let’s talk about the other housing crisis that has taken over in the Atlanta area — overcrowded animal shelters.
Now, overcrowding in animal shelters isn’t a new concept and it definitely isn’t a new issue. Overcrowded shelters appeared to have always been an problem due to animal overpopulation, which has become a global crisis.
I remember back when I was a high-school student trying to get volunteer hours, one of my favorite places to go was the local Humane Society. My hometown’s local Humane Society was the only one in the area, so I had my work cut out for me. What made things a bit difficult though was that at the time, stray and lost dogs were so common that we were often getting more dogs than could have been sent out.
After coming to Atlanta, however, things appeared different. Every week I would pass dog parks, see people walking their dogs at every turn and find plastic bag distributors for when dogs were done with their business. I would see owners with their dogs in stores and at the mall, and at one point I had met a woman whose dog sat comfortably on her shoulder on its own. Atlanta had to be one of the most dog-friendly places I had ever seen.
That said, overcrowding is still a major issue in the Metro Atlanta area.
Why?
Let’s jump back a couple of years to 2020. The world was practically shut down and people had to stay indoors for fear of contracting or contaminating others with the coronavirus. The isolation wasn’t healthy, especially for those that lived alone. So, one of the many solutions that people had taken to was to either become a foster home or to adopt a pet from a shelter.
“It was somewhat of a miracle,” Timyka Artist, with LifeLine Animal Project, explained by email regarding the 2020 animal adoptions. “Our team had never seen empty, quiet shelters. We had never experienced anything like that before.”
I think the only time I remember the Humane Society at my hometown being “empty” was after we had prepped and sent half of the animals off to shelters in different states.
Artist then said the miracle was rather short-lived. In 2021 and 2022, animals started pouring back in as they were either lost or abandoned due to financial, medical or economic hardships. According to her, last year had been an especially difficult year because adoptions were down 30% and their shelters were completely full for the whole year. Add in the limited number of volunteers, then things become more difficult on the staff.
I remember one particular day back when I was volunteering, that it was particularly crowded. There were crates lined on both sides of the main hallway. The three rooms in the medical bay were full and, in the back, there would be kennels lined against every wall that didn’t have a window. Even the front lobby had a few crates filled with dogs of various breeds and ages. It already sounds like a pretty crowded building right? Well, to add to the crowdedness of the situation, strays were still being brought in throughout the day.
With the shelter residents that still had yet to be checked and cared for and the flea-ridden litter of five-week-old Labrador pups that were brought in that afternoon, the vet-tech and her assistant weren’t seen for the rest of the day.
Now in present day — since the world had opened back up — people who are unable to work from home may not be as focused on adoption or fostering as they had during the pandemic. Along with the rise in prices for food, housing and other necessities, it had led to pet owners having to choose between themselves or their pets — a difficult decision to make.
However, at LifeLine Animal Project shelters, 15 to 20 dogs are brought in every day according to Artist. Just recently, she said there was a call for help from DeKalb County shelters that 150 dogs were at risk of being euthanized due to overcrowding. Thankfully, after an adoption event that took place on Feb. 9, not only were the 150 dogs saved but an additional 220 dogs were adopted, making for 370 adoptions total.
Despite the good news, however, animals shelters still need our help. According to Artist, here are some ways to help:
- Donate.
- Foster if adoption isn’t an option.
- If found a lost, healthy pet, please take 48 hours to try the animal’s owner by using social media or websites like Nextdoor.
Every little bit helps.
