WACO, Texas — Dogs have been flooding through the doors of the Humane Society of Central Texas as owners continue to surrender their animals or find stray dogs on the side of the road.
Over 170 dogs fill the halls of the shelter, looking for a forever home.
"We've been struggling with capacity. So, that means we have more animals coming in than animals going out," Julie Morriss, rescue coordinator at the Humane Society, said. "And, it's a really tough time for everybody on our campus."
With a no-kill status of 98%, the shelter prides itself on never having to make the difficult call to put down an animal, but with no more room, the Humane Society has been forced to make some difficult decisions. On July 11, the shelter lost two dogs of their own.
"Animals that are looked at for euthanasia are the animals that are really struggling here," Morriss said. "So, those two dogs were very much struggling here. So that is why that decision was made."
Joe Dirt and Zac were two dogs who called the Humane Society home, but with significant behavioral issues, they were the first to be looked at to relieve capacity issues.
"Those are the dogs that we almost form the strongest bond with because we want them to succeed," Sarah Fanning, Director of Operations at the Humane Society, said. "And so when we let them down, it's just like heartbreaking. It's soul-shattering, like the worst decision you could ever make. I would not want anyone to be in this position."
Over the past couple of months, the tough decision to put a dog down has been made almost every week, and facing it never gets easier.
"I have to take the difficult part of this and turn it around for action," Morriss said. "So, as a rescue coordinator when I know that these are the decisions that we've had to make and knowing the animals that we've lost as well as we know them, it just drives me harder to try to create a pathway to exit them out. We all grieve the losses in tremendous ways, but, we absolutely have to come back the next day and put forth our best efforts and get these dogs out into great homes, to rescues and into fosters."
To work to get more of these dogs adopted, the Humane Society is offering free pet adoptions through the end of the month, so if you're looking for a new sidekick or best friend, this may be the perfect place. You might even save a dog's life in the process.
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