GASTONIA, N.C. — The staff at Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement Shelter have their hands full as it's the only space that shelters stray dogs in the county. The staff have taken in over 200 animals since Dec. 1, 2023, and now, it's running out of space and time for the animals.
"I will tell you, just from Saturday until today, we've had over 50 animals come in," Elizabeth Henderson, who is the shelter's office manager, said.
The holiday season didn’t help. Shelter staff have to wait three business days for an owner to potentially claim an animal, and the Christmas holiday had some animals waiting up to a week.
"So, therefore, the length of stay is longer, the animal gets more stressed out, and we can't adopt out animals sooner, we can't send them out to rescue so it backs up our whole entire process here on the holidays," Henderson said.
The situation is more dire in Gaston County than others because there's no humane society to shelter animals too, so any lost dog typically ends up at the shelter. One of the hardest decisions they’re being forced to make is to euthanize dogs.
“It's a very emotional, unfortunately," Henderson said. "Takes a big emotional hit on our staff. We do have a placement team that makes those decisions, and it's something that's not taken lightly. For animals, it goes by length of stay health, medical, we take all that into consideration. We exhaust all options; it's something that we do not want to do."
In an effort to prevent those decisions, adoption coordinator Laura Day and her team hope to connect stray pets to a forever home.
"So, I tried to work with them and counsel and say, 'We have this pet or this pet that would be perfect for going on hikes or has lots of energy or lower energy, and that would be great,'" Day said. "So, I tried to work with them to find the best pet for them.”
The shelter aims to be a valuable resource for pets and their owners rather than a home.
Contact Myles Harris at mharris5@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte is committed to reporting on the many issues facing the communities we serve. We tell the stories of people working to solve persistent social problems. We examine how problems can be solved or addressed to improve the quality of life and make a positive difference. WCNC Charlotte is seeking solutions for you. Send your tips or questions to newstips@wcnc.com.