LifeLine Animal Project, the nonprofit responsible for shelters in DeKalb and Fulton counties, said it would begin euthanizing dogs this week due to severe overcrowding.
The DeKalb shelter must reduce and sustain its shelter population to 450 dogs or less in the next 60 days, LifeLine CEO Rebecca Guinn said on Oct. 20.
“We have stretched the shelters’ capacity and resources to unsustainable limits,” Guinn told Rough Draft.
With 615 dogs in the DeKalb shelter, and more arriving daily, an average of 21 dogs must leave the shelter per day through adoptions, foster, rescue transfers or euthanasia.
The numbers are equally grim in Fulton County, where 375 dogs are living up to six dogs to a kennel. Each day, two more animals arrive than leave the Fulton County shelter, Guinn said.
There are also 105 dogs in the overflow shelter in Midtown.
“We owe animals their lives, and we’ve tried to give them every chance to find a home, even when it meant more time in the shelter,” said Guinn. “We have fought and continue to fight for lifesaving options, rather than end their lives for lack of space.”
Guinn said, “We cannot humanely care for this many animals with the resources and space currently available.”
On Oct. 6, DeKalb County announced a $10 million comprehensive strategy to address overcrowding at DeKalb County Animal Services Center.
“Residents who lack the financial resources to properly care for their pets are fueling the overcrowding crisis at our animal shelter,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said.
In September, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved Thurmond’s proposal to allocate:
- $200,000 to establish grant pilot programs to encourage fostering of animals and to aid pet owners to feed and care for their pets,
- $144,000 for a mobile veterinary clinic to provide veterinary services to areas most in need,
- $223,000 to purchase cages and an upgraded camera system for the animal shelter,
- $25,000 for community outreach related to expansion of the animal shelter, and
- $600,000 for the LifeLine Animal Project to increase contract to attract and retain more staffing.
