HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A New Leash on Life, a non-profit organization that takes in animals from crowded shelters and gets them ready for adoption says right now they're bringing more in than usual.
"In the last several weeks, I would say we've seen an increased influx of pets into shelters. They're overcrowded. Lots and lots of shelters are having to euthanize pets at a greater rate. And so we're just trying to ramp up efforts to open this center to help save thousands more lives a year," said Debbie Dodd, the director of A New Leash on Life. She says she feels like everything with covid and the economy has just affected a lot of people's lives and they feel like they can no longer keep their pets.
But even their facilities are getting crowded, they're looking to the community for help.
Heather Boirun, manager of Cove Life-Saving Center, says, "We need fosters and we have these facilities. But this can only hold so many animals, and so our fosters are huge. I mean, the majority of our animals are in foster homes."
And if you're ready, this rescue encourages you to open your home and adopt. Their centers have several dogs and cats who are spayed and neutered and ready for their forever family. Boirun says, "Some of them are pre adopted, but we still have several left."
They also want to educate the public about spaying and neutering animals…as this will keep the population down. Dodd explains how they can help. "We provide spay neuter for low income families, food for pets when people can't afford it, you know, whatever we can do to help to keep that pet in its home."
"There's a stigma about shelter pets being thrown away for a reason. They're not. they're wonderful. And they deserve to have a family," says Dodd.