The Sugar Land Animal Services is home to over 50 dogs, cats and different exotic animals. These animals are all trying to get adopted in hopes to find their forever home.

Animal adoptions along with stray intakes rise during the holiday season

The holiday season is a busy time for animal shelters across the country. For the Sugar Land Animal Services, which holds over 50 dogs, cats, rabbits and other exotic animals who are looking for their forever home, there is definitely a rise seen in adoptions during the season of giving.

“We see a lot more stray animals, typically this time of year, but we also see a lot more adoptions this time of year,” Kathryn Ketchum, the animal services manager at the Sugar Land Animal Shelter, said. “It’s a good time for families when they’re thinking about adoption.”

With some families going on vacation and deciding to turn in their pet, while others have more time at home during the holidays to adopt, there are many reasons that affect animal shelters during the holidays. The shelters go through a process when taking in an animal and making sure they are safe to find a loving home.

“We only take stray animals found within our community. When an animal comes in, it’s what’s on what’s called a stray hold. By law, if it does not have an ID, we have to hold it for 72 hours. If it does have identification, that’s 120 hours giving an owner the time to come and reclaim their animal,” Ketchum said. “If nobody comes forward for the animal, it goes through a behavioral and medical evaluation. At that time, if the animal is deemed adoptable, it goes up for adoption and stays up for adoption as long as it stays happy and healthy.”

Some animals stay at the shelter for over one and a half years struggling to find someone that will adopt them, while there are dogs that are more adoptable than others.

“If it’s under 20 pounds, it’s leaving here pretty quickly,” Ketchum said. The ones that stay the longest, unfortunately, are the Staffordshire mixes, which some people like to refer to as Pit-bulls and anything that is a black animal because you just can’t see them very well in the cages.”

Dogs of all types and ages can be found at the Sugar Land Animal Services. Some come in the shelter in pairs or more and hope to stay together when they get adopted (Left). The shelter gives the animals they take in a thorough exam to make sure they are healthy and safe. Before getting released for adoption, all the animals get up-to-date with necessary shots, medicine and are also spayed or neutered (Center). This female Harrier mix was just taken into the shelter and is still in need to get updated with her shots. She is put in the playroom with a bed, blankets, toys and water to make her as comfortable as possible (Right).

Donations are such an important part in local shelters, so that they can continue to provide for the animals they are taking care of. The Sugar Land Animal Services uses this room to organize, wash, clean and keep all the items needed for the animals (Left). Not just dogs and cats, but the shelter is also home to a opossum that was found during Hurricane Harvey. It would not have been able to survive on its own, so the shelter took it in and is now being used for educational purposes (Center). Many of the dogs come up to the door of their cages when a person walks by in hopes to getting their attention and affection. For some, it is their lucky day as they get to go home to a new home, while others have to wait a little longer in finding the right place for them (Right).

The less wanted animals are looking for their second chance just as the ones that have a short stay at the shelter do as well. Adrianna Lam, a Sugar Land resident, and her family adopted Mocha, a brindle colored Irish Terrier mix, from the Sugar Land Animal Services last holiday season during Thanksgiving.

“He looked so scared sitting at the back of his cage, but my mom and I immediately knew we had to bring him home” Lam said. “Mocha was definitely traumatized and had a low chance of getting adopted if we hadn’t decided to take him home that day.”

Lam also has experience fostering dogs from local shelters.

“During the holiday season, I’m always getting emails from the shelter for the need for more fosters since others are dropping their animals during this busy time of year,” Lam said. “Even though there are more adoptions made during the holidays, plenty of other dogs still need homes or fosters.”

Throughout the year, donations and volunteers are a big part that keeps shelters going and being able to provide for their animals. When it is cold during the winter time, blankets are commonly donated and important to give comfort and something soft to the animals, Ketchum said.

“We go through a lot of wet canned food, especially for the dogs,” Ketchum said. “Sometimes we go through 12 cans per feeding, so canned food is always welcome. And it does offset our budget, and it does help us conserve that money we can use for other things like medical treatment or upgrades to the facility to make things more comfortable for the animals.”

It takes a lot to be able to run an animal shelter smoothly and successfully. The Sugar Land Animal Services continually receives above 90% on their success rate in intaking and adopting out their animals. They do their best in assessing what is best for the animals that come in and hoping to always have a happy ending.

“As long as they remain happy and healthy, we fight until they find their forever home,” Ketchum said.

With the hard work of the employees and volunteers and improvements continually getting done at the Sugar Land Animal Services, they will continue to provide temporary homes and proper care to all their animals as they search for the right place for them.