Politics

Chicago’s City Animal Shelter Faces Overcrowding as Owner Surrenders Spike, Euthanasia Numbers Continue to Climb

In late March, the city-run Chicago Animal Care and Control partnered with rescue groups for a weekend-long adoption event that led to about 60 animals from the city shelter finding new homes.

Armando Tejeda, CACC’s spokesperson, described the event as a “huge undertaking.” However, the relief was short-lived.

“As soon as those cages got empty, it just got filled up with another animal,” Tejeda said. “I really try to focus on: Let’s celebrate the win tonight and then tomorrow we just start over again.”

During the month of March, an average of about 40 animals — predominately dogs and cats — entered the city shelter each day. So far this year, the city has seen over 3,200 animals that were either taken in as strays or relinquished by their owners. That number is up 20% compared to the same time period last year, according to city data.

Euthanasia remains a reality at the city shelter despite yearly increases in number of adoptions. It also continues as local rescue group partners increase the number of animals they take in from the shelter.

“We’re at capacity almost every day,” Tejeda said.

Last year, the euthanasia rate at the city shelter increased for the third consecutive year, amounting to 2,455 animals being put down, of which 60% were dogs, according to city data.

Chicago Animal Care and Control on the Lower West Side on May 20, 2024. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)

All the while, local animal advocates continue to fight back against persistent issues they say are at the root of the city shelter’s overcrowding: animal overpopulation from backyard breeders and owners not getting their pets spayed or neutered. In addition, there are the barriers that prevent people from keeping their pet or adopting a new one such as rising living and pet care costs, and housing insecurity and restrictions.

“Backyard breeding needs to end,” said Marta Kenar, founder and executive director at Mission Compassion Paw Rescue and Outreach. “Spay and neuter needs to be more realistic and approachable. There needs to be more government funding for spay and neuter.”

MCP Rescue and Outreach is a foster-based group in Chicago that takes in the majority of their animals from the city shelter, according to Kenar. The rescue specifically deals with animals it describes as “underdogs,” or dogs that tend to be harder to find homes for such as pit bulls, mastiffs, bonded pairs, seniors, hospice dogs and dogs with medical issues.

While the rescue is seeing a drop in adoptions, Kenar said, the organization describes its approach to its work as “quality over quantity.”

“We hope to see a future where it’s less of a revolving door type of model and more of a matchmaking model where those adoptions are for everlasting relationships, and dogs aren’t seen back in the system,” Kenar said.

Before and after of Navy, who was taken in from Chicago Animal Care and Control by the local rescue group Mission Compassion Paw Rescue and Outreach. (Courtesy of Mission Compassion Paw Rescue and Outreach)

In November, the city animal shelter shortened its intake window for people to bring in animals to 3-7 p.m. The reason for condensing the intake window was “based on budget” and because more staff is available during those hours, according to Tejeda.

The shelter also got rid of appointments for owners looking to surrender their pet.

In the first three months of this year, the city shelter saw the number of animals relinquished by their owners’ reach 1,400, a 265% increase compared to the same time last year, according to city data. During the same period of time last year, about 380 animals were relinquished by their owner.

Shelter leaders think part of that increase has to do with owners being more likely to self-identity as owners of an animal, which is what leaders suspected people weren’t always doing in the past, according to Tejeda, who suspected some owners would previously pass their animal off as a stray in order to be accepted by the shelter.

Cats at Chicago Animal Care and Control on May 20, 2024. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)

“We used to give them appointments so, ‘Can you come back in one week? Can you come back in two weeks?’ just so we don’t have to euthanize animals for space at that time,” Tejeda said. “Now that we’ve lifted that restraint of the owner surrender appointments, I think people are identifying more, ‘Yes, this is my dog. Yes, this is my cat,’ knowing that we’ll take it right away.”

As the number of owner surrenders increased by 265% in the first quarter of this year, the shelter saw its stray intake decrease by 20%, according to city data.

Economic challenges, like the rising costs of pet food, and housing restrictions, such as landlords not allowing pit bulls in their buildings, are the main reasons owners tend to give up their animals, according to Tejeda.

The shelter partners with PAWS Chicago on a diversion program to offer struggling pet owners free and low-cost spay and neuter surgeries, behavior consultations and treatment for acute medical needs. The shelter might also offer pet food and other resources if it means owners are able to keep their pet, according to Tejeda.

This year, the city allocated about $7.5 million to Chicago Animal Care and Control, a 2% decrease from last year, according to the city budget.

The city shelter has also been without a permanent leader for more than two years, a position appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.

The city shelter is hosting its next adoption event on April 26. During the event, adoption fees will be waived.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]

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