Influx of animals has KC Pet Project in crisis mode

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A local animal shelter is experiencing such an influx at their facility that they’ve had to consider euthanasia.

“This is getting to be one of the worst times that we have ever experienced,” said Tori Fugate, KC Pet Project’s Chief Communications Officer.

KC Pet Project, which has 140 kennels, is in crisis mode. For the last two years, they have had 40 to 60 new animals show up at the shelter each day. On top of that, stray animals have to be held at the shelter for five days so the owner has a chance to reclaim them. All of this has created major overcrowding.

“We had dogs in holding kennels,” Fugate said. “We had no place to put new animals coming in the door. So, every new animal that comes, in we are wondering, ‘Where on Earth are we going to put them?’”

That is why the shelter put out a plea to the community over the weekend and offered a $30 Memorial Day weekend adoption special. They hoped it would help find the animals a new home and help the shelter avoid considering euthanizing animals for space.

“That is a position that none of us ever want to be at, at KC Pet Project,” Fugate said. “So, this is why we do things like ask our communities for help. We put out pleas to the public about how they can help us, how they can temporarily get a dog in foster, things like that.”

Officials said that, over the past four days, the community has responded. They’ve been able to reunite 22 dogs and a cat with their families. They’ve also been able to get 100 dogs and 47 cats adopted. Some other animals went to foster homes, as they await adoption.

Despite the success from the recent special, the shelter still needs to get more animals adopted.

“It’s really important to us that, if you are wanting to adopt and open up your hearts and homes to an animal, you can come here KC Pet Project,” Fugate said. “We are going to try and find you the best match.”

The shelter’s next move is Waived Fee Wednesday, a series of promotions that will take place every Wednesday though the rest of the summer.

It’s all in an effort to get furry, four-legged friends into forever homes. To learn more, click here to visit KC Pet Project’s website. You can click here to see all the animals they have available for adoption.

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