Kansas City Animal Shelters Overflow With Abandoned Animals As Residents Struggle Financial KCUR 89.3

It was a record summer for the KC Pet Project. The animal shelter welcomed its largest number of animals in June: 1,400, compared to the usual 1,000.

It is one of the only shelters in Kansas City that is not allowed to refuse pets. And now it’s overflowing. Staff have set up additional kennels in their building to keep any extra dogs. The organization offers cheap adoptions, but even with reduced fees, fewer animals come out than enter. And the shelter is “desperate” for people to temporarily take in pets, said communications manager Tori Fugate. .

“We’re so full and at full capacity that we can’t keep up with the volume of animals coming in,” Fugate said.

Summer often brings more animals that are hit by a car or a bullet, Fugate said. But this year, she says more owners are giving up their pets because they can’t afford to care for them. Another contributing factor: housing issues like evictions, moving to a new location where pets aren’t allowed, or not being able to afford a pet deposit or rent.

“We see a lot of people who are unfortunately undergoing evictions and they cannot find a place to live with their pets,” Fugate said. “There just isn’t enough affordable housing in Kansas City for people and pets, and especially for people with large breed dogs. “

In June alone, 591 animals were donated to the KC Pet Project by their owners. It’s another record for the organization and an 88% increase from last June, Fugate said.

From January to June 2021, the organization says nearly 2,100 pets have been returned by their owners. By comparison, in 2020, owners donated only 1,670 animals to the KC Pet Project.

Other Kansas City animal shelters say throughout the COVID-19 pandemic they have seen more people abandon their pets or seek help caring for them.

the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City said that between January and June 2021, 56 cats were brought into the shelter by owners with housing issues such as hoarding, evictions or moving to a new location where pets are not allowed. In 2020, only 17 cats were abandoned by owners with housing problems.

To make matters worse, the surge in pandemic pet adoptions has slowed. In 2020, the Humane Society adopted 175 dogs and 465 cats. So far, in the first half of 2021, they have only had 40 dog adoptions and 127 cat adoptions.

The shelter is now overcapacity and has had to turn away many animals, said Meagan Parks, director of business development. He usually takes care of 65 dogs and 165 cats, divided between the shelter and the host families. Currently, the organization cares for around 100 dogs and 200 cats. Workers have set up kennels in the offices to house additional dogs. Meanwhile, the staff are overwhelmed and many volunteers still haven’t returned, Parks said.

“There are never enough resources,” she says. “Turning people away when they need help is just the worst feeling. “

Geoff Hall, President of Waifs by the side of the road, said his shelter has not seen a noticeable increase in the number of owners abandoning their pets due to evictions during the pandemic. But over the past year, he said he has observed more and more people using his organization’s pet pantry because they cannot afford to feed their pets.

“While they may not be returning their pets, they are looking for some extra help,” he said. “It’s usually a temporary loss of income. This is what we see most often. “

Michelle Rivera, founder and CEO of the Kansas City Pet Resource Center, said he saw an increase in the number of people seeking affordable veterinary care and free pet food offered by his organization.

“A lot of people are struggling financially because of the loss of jobs,” she said.

Pets play a vital role in making people happy, especially if those people are already vulnerable and feel out of touch with society, Rivera said. Some people who seek help from the Pet Resource Center blame their pets for keeping them alive.

“Homeless people, people who don’t have anyone else in their family – their pets are all they sometimes have,” Rivera said. “Especially during COVID and these troubling times, being able to turn to a pet for unconditional love and support is really important.”

Evictions

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has placed a moratorium on evictions across the United States, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t deported to Kansas City, said Rachel North, a lawyer at the United States. Western Missouri Legal Aid, an organization that offers help with housing, immigration and other civil legal matters.

The moratorium only applies to evictions due to non-payment of rent, North said. It is therefore possible that people will be deported for other reasons. And local judges can interpret the moratorium in different ways, choosing to decide that a person should be evicted, even if the moratorium prevents that person from being effectively evicted from a home at this time.

North said those threatened with eviction may not be aware of the CDC’s moratorium and may not have submitted a required CDC statement to the court and their landlord, North said.

“People may not know they are protected,” she said. “You have to take positive action.”

According to Princeton University Expulsion laboratory, there were 511 evictions in Kansas City in June 2021. This is the highest number of evictions in a single month since February 2020, but it remains well below the pre-pandemic average of 823 applications. eviction in typical June.

North said she did not know which of her clients had been kicked out because of their pets or had to abandon their pets due to their housing situation. But she said it’s a common problem for people who are deported. She expects the number of evictions to increase when the federal moratorium expires at the end of this month.

“We’re kind of at the edge where that protection is going to run out,” North said. “We don’t have local protection in place in Kansas City.”

Fugate, along with the KC Pet Project, also said she didn’t expect things to slow down.

“It will be our reality for the whole summer,” she said. “We are going to need the help of our community to overcome this ordeal.