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The shelter has reached the limit of its ability to care for and house the animals they currently have, leaving no space for the dogs that continue to come in every day, according to an AACACC spokesperson.
"Throughout the United States, many public, open-access shelters like ours that must accept all pets brought to them from their jurisdictions are experiencing capacity issues," Catlett said. “Our own shelter is now over its capacity for care.”
Even the shelter's many foster families have become overwhelmed with the number of strays and surrenders that are being turned over to the shelter, forcing the shelter to have to consider the tragic option of euthanasia for some pets.
“Our shelter has not had to euthanize adoptable animals due to exceeding its capacity for care in many years, but we are currently on the brink of being forced to make those awful decisions for dogs,” Catlett said.
“We hope that with the support of our community, we can avoid this, but we believe in transparency and we want Anne Arundel County citizens to know what we might be forced to do if we cannot find homes for more of our dogs.”
All available dogs at the shelter are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Dogs have also gone through staff observations to determine their behavior around people and other animals.
The shelter is waiving the normal $17 adoption fee but is still requiring adopters to meet the shelter's adoption requirements. Potential adopters do not have to live in Anne Arundel County in order to adopt a pet from the shelter.
Photos of available dogs are listed on the website, which can be located here.
The shelter is also encouraging interested parties to consider fostering animals for the shelter to open up kennel space for new arrivals.
The shelter is located at 411 Maxwell Frye Rd., Millersville, MD, and is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. It also is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on one Sunday a month.
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