VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— We all hear about how full and overcrowded the animal shelters in the area can be. Well one local resident recently learned how truly overcrowded the shelters are.
In a field in northern Vigo County, three stray dogs were found by a local vet tech in the area. Nicole Delich then tried to deliver them to a local shelter before they could get hurt.
“I brought treats with me and leashes, and I just called out for them and started walking towards them with the food,” said Delich. “They were very interested, very friendly, they ran over to me, interacted with me, and jumping all over. I was successful and able to get one on the leash. The other one was still a little standoffish, so it took a little bit more time to get him into the car, but once I got the one in the car, the other one followed.”
Delich called the county animal control, who were unable to pick up the dogs due to the overcrowding at the shelter. An unfortunate and common problem in our area
“I also called all other local foster-based rescues to try to get them placed in the meantime
And everyone is full,” said Delich. “There is a really bad problem right now with overcrowding.”
The same can be said of humane societies like the one in Terre Haute.
“Here for the last couple of years, we’ve probably been anywhere from ten to twenty percent over capacity, so we have had ten to twenty percent more animals than our facility is designed to hold,” said Ray Buechler, President of the Terre Haute Humane Society Board of Directors.
The over crowdedness is so bad that the shelter has had to keep animals in the hallways, in the garage where the food is stored, and even have healthy dogs be housed in the isolation room for the sick.
“Most of the area shelters were full and overcapacity, and we might not be able to take that animal,” Buechler said. “We’ll try to work with them in terms of coming up with a time where they can bring the animal in and surrender it.”
Delich was able to find a shelter to take the dogs, but she had to drive about three hours to make it happen.
“So that’s when I called Evansville, and that’s when I called Bloomington,” said Delich. “Those are the two places I had found, and they both returned my call immediately and told me to bring the dogs.”
Delich took the dogs to Evansville. She says she’s hopeful that they can find their forever home. Meanwhile, Delich and Buechler both said they hope the community will help control the pet population and give every pet a place to stay. Some of their suggestions included spaying and neutering animals and cracking down on improper breeding sites.
The Terre Haute Humane Society will be launching a spay and neuter clinic with a local vet soon. You can learn more about when and where the clinic will be held on the humane society’s Facebook page.
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