Adoption rates at shelters like Valley Oak SPCA have been cut in half over recent years leaving them with more animals than they can handle

VISALIA – Dogs and cats at animal shelters up and down the West Coast are being adopted at alarmingly slow rates, leading to more euthanizations as no-kill shelters fill up to capacity. That’s certainly the case at Valley Oak SPCA in Visalia, whose adoption rates have been cut in half over the past few years.  

“We’re overflowing,” said Valley Oak’s Executive Director Keyana Miller. 

Valley Oak generally never has any empty kennels, Miller said, but with adoptions this slow the no-kill shelter isn’t able to take in animals from nearby shelters that euthanize cats and dogs. And this isn’t just affecting the Central Valley – Miller said that the shelter’s partner rescues all the way up to Oregon and Washington are also facing slow adoption rates.

“Every month right now we’re seeing only about 50 to 60 adoptions, whereas before, we were seeing about 100 plus adoptions a month. So it’s drastically cut in half ,” Miller said. This affects the shelter’s ability to pull animals from nearby kill shelters, partner rescues and animal control. “We’re lucky if we pull a few a month now,” Miller said. 

A common theory is that as pandemic restrictions end, more people are returning the animals they took in during the adoption frenzy of those early lockdown months. But from what Miller’s seen, this isn’t the case. 

“We’re not getting hit with a lot of returns. There’s just nobody coming to adopt anymore,” Miller said. “It’s like a train was put on pause. I think a lot of that is because people maybe are traveling more now, or maybe they don’t have the money to support an animal. Maybe that’s because of COVID; maybe people got laid off from work or lost their business, so they can’t afford a pet right now.”

Whatever the case may be, Valley Oak isn’t able to take in any animals until the ones currently there get adopted. Shelters around the county exhaust all other options before resorting to euthanasia, Miller said, but there’s nothing they can do if the flow of adoptions isn’t moving. 

“If we can’t pull them and Washington and Oregon can’t take them, then the last resort is euthanasia. If adoptions aren’t happening, animals are getting euthanized,” Miller said. 

More than just adopting animals out, Valley Oak acts as a “matchmaker” for people and families looking to welcome a pet into their household. The shelter works with prospective adopters to make sure an animal will fit their home environment and lifestyle. 

“We want to make sure that cat or dog is going into a home they will thrive in,” Miller said. “Sometimes a family might be coming in for a large breed dog, but in reality, their home and lifestyle is equipped for small breed dogs. That’s our job, to educate the family. It does take kind of a sit-down process, but we do it so they can be together forever; they won’t have to return the animal in a month because it’s not working out.”

Besides adopting a dog or cat, Miller says the best way to help out during this time would be to take in a foster animal. 

“I think a lot of people might get scared of that, because they think they don’t have enough room or a lot of time. But not every animal requires a full-time commitment,” Miller said. Some animals in need of foster homes that don’t require too much work, she added, include senior dogs in need of someplace to live that isn’t as stressful as the shelter, or kittens that just need to stay in a bathroom big enough to fit a litter box and food bowls for a couple of weeks. 

“If someone can open their home for a few weeks, that can be a big difference here at our adoption center,” Miller said. 

Those interested in adopting or fostering an animal can visit vospca.org or drop by the adoption center located at 9800 Camp Drive in Visalia. The shelter is also in need of donations of blankets, dog and cat toys and beds. 

Start typing and press Enter to search