ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Animal Services is pleading with the community to adopt pets as it has hit capacity with more than 700 animals under its care.
The shelter said it received 114 animals Thursday, making for a total of 383 animals physically at its shelter and an additional 319 in foster care.
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Many pets are being turned over to animal services because the shelter said owners are no longer able to take care of them with rising housing costs.
In May, the shelter said it received 361 pets from owners who cannot take care of their pets or wanted to care for them anymore.
The shelter has reduced adoption fees for both cats and dogs to $25.
Other ways the shelter said you can help is by doing the following.
Residents who find stray pets should take steps to reunite them with their owners before bringing the pet to the shelter.
“In the vast majority of circumstances, stray animals are less than 2 miles from their home,” said Diane Summers, manager for Animal Services. “Not every owner knows about or thinks to come to the shelter when their baby is missing. If the finder can take steps to reunite the pet with the owner, by checking for a microchip identification, posting the found pet on social media sites and sharing flyers in their area, it can help bring a family back together.”
Animals Services also asks owners who feel they need to surrender their pets to explore all options before resorting to the shelter.
“We’re imploring pet owners to take every possible measure before surrendering to the shelter right now, that means reaching out to friends and family for help, reaching out to local rescue groups and trying to work through issues before giving up,” Summers said.
And if you can’t adopt a pet, you could consider being a part of its foster program.