PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — People are forced to give up their pets – that’s the latest impact of rising rents and increases in costs of living. And it’s more than shelters can handle. The Humane Society says there’s no more room, especially in Pierce County.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Humane Society says that so far this year, 212 companion animals are coming through their doors every day – from stray cats and lost dogs from animal control to people who need to surrender their pets.
Now they’re pleading for help and urging people considering a pet adoption to make that happen now.
That’s exactly what Torie Brannen did after hearing about the shelter’s situation.
“I just adopted Crackers. She’s a little kitten,” Brannen said. “I’ve been wanting to adopt a cat for a long time and I got a little teary in there just thinking about it. Their shelters were really full and it just seemed like a sign.”
The shelter is currently working on a campaign to clear out the shelter by offering deep discounts on the traditional pet adoption fees that can cost hundreds of dollars. Until the end of August, adopting an adult cat costs $25, and an adult dog $50.
Lindsey Heaney says the effort is bringing in many families, which is already starting to help. But their shelter is still bursting at the seams.
“Usually we’re able to have 300 animals, and we’re caring for over 700. So thankfully, we have a lot of foster homes to help out with that,” Heaney said.
Look at these sweet faces!! ????
But @TacomaHumane is over capacity rn. They’re seeing a surge of people surrendering pets.
A big reason: rent hikes/ moves/ living cost, meaning people can’t afford their pets. ????
You can help by adopting, donating, fostering, volunteering! ???? pic.twitter.com/cm9IHXwMc5
— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) August 19, 2022
The pet support team at Tacoma Humane works with families who need to surrender their pets.
“It’s always a heartbreaking scenario,” said Marley Weiss, a pet support team member.
The shelter says one big reason fueling the surge in pets they’re seeing is rent hikes forcing people to move. Those costs are on top of things like pet fees and breed restrictions.
“Being able to find a pet-friendly place at a cost they can afford,” Heaney said.
“People having to work two jobs because things are getting so ridiculously expensive you just don’t have the time,” Weiss said about some of the cases she has seen.
Last year, Tacoma saw the highest rent increase by percentage in Western Washington – nearly 19%. As of July 2022, Apartment List showed the year-to-year rent hike was 9% – lower but still significant.
Then there are the vet costs that catch people off guard, which have also been contributing to the surge of people giving up pets.
“Having puppies and kittens are expensive. It’s like having a baby,” Weiss said. “People don’t know about pet insurance and it’s hard to manage those expenses you’re not thinking about right away, like a broken leg or kennel cough or senior dogs.”
New kitten parent, Brannen, agrees the increased cost of living has been a challenge. Her nonrefundable pet deposit cost $400.
“So unfortunately pricey,” Brannen said. “It’ll be worth it. Cats live for up to 20 years, so she’s going to be a friend for a long time.”
If you need help paying for pet food or even certain medical expenses, Tacoma Humane might be able to help in a way that lets you keep your pet. People can support Tacoma-Pierce County Humane Society by visiting https://www.thehumanesociety.org/.
©2022 Cox Media Group
Surge in pet surrenders leaves Tacoma Humane over max capacity – KIRO 7 News Seattle & Latest News Update
Surge in pet surrenders leaves Tacoma Humane over max capacity – KIRO 7 News Seattle & More Live News
All this news that I have made and shared for you people, you will like it very much and in it we keep bringing topics for you people like every time so that you keep getting news information like trending topics and you It is our goal to be able to get
all kinds of news without going through us so that we can reach you the latest and best news for free so that you can move ahead further by getting the information of that news together with you. Later on, we will continue
to give information about more today world news update types of latest news through posts on our website so that you always keep moving forward in that news and whatever kind of information will be there, it will definitely be conveyed to you people.
Surge in pet surrenders leaves Tacoma Humane over max capacity – KIRO 7 News Seattle & More News Today
All this news that I have brought up to you or will be the most different and best news that you people are not going to get anywhere, along with the information Trending News, Breaking News, Health News, Science News, Sports News, Entertainment News, Technology News, Business News, World News of this made available to all of you so that you are always connected with the news, stay ahead in the matter and keep getting today news all types of news for free till today so that you can get the news by getting it. Always take two steps forward
Credit Goes To News Website – This Original Content Owner News Website . This Is Not My Content So If You Want To Read Original Content You Can Follow Below Links