BY KELLY MCGRATH
Employees and volunteers of the Animal Care Centers of New York loaded its van with a handful of the group’s animals and set up outside Buddy’s Dog Den in Williamsburg, for a mobile adoption event last Saturday. Volunteers and employees walked up and down the block with dogs fitted in bright blue “Adopt Me!” vests, encouraging passersby to stop and say hello. Adopters even received a free panini courtesy of Anthony and Son Panini Shoppe for every animal adopted. A sweet scene from afar, but a closer look shows that the city’s animal shelters are in a state of emergency. Events like last Saturday’s are not nearly enough to address the crisis that is overcrowding in New York City’s animal shelters.
The NYACC holds frequent mobile adoption events to bring the shelter to the people and make the adoption process easier and more accessible across all the boroughs. In total, seven kittens, three cats, and two dogs found new homes last Saturday.
“I’m surprised it wasn’t more,” said NYACC Mobile Adoption Coordinator, Tash Iorizzo as they scanned the streets, “Usually we still have a line by now, and it’s a Saturday too.”
This is becoming an all too common occurrence for the NYACC as the number of abandoned or surrendered animals in the city continues to rise and the rate of the adoption dwindles. This nationwide surge in pet surrenders is pushing the city’s shelters system to the breaking point. The newly opened Queens Animal Care Center location is currently holding steady at over 200% overcapacity, creating an unhealthy environment incompatible with providing animals with proper care.
Overcrowded shelters create a perfect environment for the quick spread of disease as well as increased dog reactivity. These factors combined with an overwhelmed staff pose a major health and safety risk not just to the animals but humans as well.
The NYACC announced last March that, because of overcrowding, it will be forced to suspend animal intakes altogether, regardless of whether the animal is abandoned, stray, or surrendered. However, the non-profit did state that “If you have exhausted all possible options and still need to surrender your dog,” it will set up an appointment to review options. This means that, despite repeated announcements that the organization cannot fit any more dogs in its shelters, it is still taking in new dogs. Dogs that cannot be relocated to other rescues, rehomed, or fostered in are put down.
Between June and August of this year, pet owners surrendered 4,185 pets to the NYACC. Of those 4,185 animals, 9.4% were euthanized. While dogs require more space and more resources, all animals taken in by the NYACC are impacted by the overcrowding, contributing to euthanasia rates.
Shelter halls are cramped, lined with cages stacked one over the other. Kennels that were designed to hold one dog must now hold two, and employee burnout is worse than ever, according to Iorizzo.
“Our animal care people, the ones that do the real work, have the highest turnover because it’s a miserable job,” said Iorizzo, “It’s soulfully draining.”
Saturday’s adoption event came just a few months after photos taken by an ex-volunteer were published depicting puppies in dirty kennels covered in their own feces at the Queens facility, sparking media outrage.
“We want people to be outraged, this is an emergency and it’s not being treated like one, but it’s easy to see those photos and be outraged at our shelter workers, when people have no idea what a shelter environment is actually like,” Iorizzo said, “The photos are upsetting, but that’s what puppies do and I wonder why a volunteer would take those photos rather than help.”
This is not the first time the NYACC has come under media fire for poor conditions and mismanagement since taking over the city’s municipal shelters in 2019. Iorizzo, who first joined the non-profit in 2021, agrees that the shelters have been in a state of crisis for years. They say that current conditions are the unfortunate byproduct of an economy in crisis.
Local rescue organizations and businesses are doing what they can to pitch in. Agnes Reichert manages Buddy’s Dog Den, a doggy daycare and grooming business. She says they routinely have been taking in abandoned dogs and trying to rehome them or find temporary placements.
“We took a dog into Buddy’s a few days ago that was tied to a pole” outside the business, “and there was another one this morning,” Reichert said.
The NYACC testified at a New York City Council hearing last month held to address the overcrowding. The organization is demanding more support from the city, including legislation to change housing policies that restrict pet ownership. Some landlords charge high fees or have strict pet, breed, or size bans in place that make owning a pet in the city inaccessible for many people.
“What we’d like to see from the city is for them to work with landlords on these restrictions, a lot of them are ‘breedist,’” said Iorizzo. “’No one will take pitties, and what are the shelters full of?” Iorizzo said.
The non-profit also cited rising costs in veterinary care, which have increased by 38.6% in the last five years, as well as pet food, which rose by 25.8%, as other top reasons for animal surrender.
“Vet care is out of control,” Reichert said, “I was quoted $19,000 for my dog’s surgery, which obviously I can’t afford, so I’m just going to keep her [as] comfortable as possible until her time comes.”
Another former employee of Reichert’s was unable to find an apartment that would allow his large dog. Ultimately, Reichert’s employee had to move out of the city so he could keep his pet.
Iorizzo is not optimistic that animal shelters can expect any relief any time soon. They predict that this problem will only worsen.
“Just look at the state of the economy,” Iorizzo said, “We do what we can, we waive adoption fees like once a month, we offer services for spays and neuters, but owning a dog is a continued expense.”
“We cannot rescue our way out of this nationwide crisis,” Reichert said, “People can’t afford to feed themselves, let alone a dog, or get it proper medical care.”