A dog rescuer’s job is never done, especially in the current animal shelter crisis. Facing housing shortages and an uncertain financial climate, people are surrendering or abandoning their pets at an alarming rate. Shelters are simply overwhelmed by the influx of unwanted dogs and cats. How is Rescue Ranch making a difference? Let’s take a short survey of what we’ve accomplished so far this year.
As of early of July, our total intakes stood at 297 dogs. The numbers are split among county shelter transfers, transfers from other shelters, and litters of unwanted puppies. We’ve already noted the growing number of dumped dogs and the dramatic 250-300% intake increase at Siskiyou County Animal Control. Last week’s article described how we helped with a hoarding situation.
Shortly after those 27 Pomchis arrived, we took in six more littles from another hoarding case!
Puppy numbers are still off the charts
As of this writing, we have 40 puppies in foster and another 14 at the Ranch. No sooner do we find homes for one litter, than another enters our care. Did you know that just one unspayed female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in six years? It’s true!
The silver lining is that every Rescue Ranch puppy is spay/neutered when it reaches the appropriate age, and any unaltered adult dogs are fixed before they go home. At least we can ensure that no Rescue Ranch dog will perpetuate the cycle.
Rescue Ranch is doing its best to meet the crisis
Despite the crisis, Rescue Ranch adoptions have been fairly steady: earlier this month, we stood at 285 dogs adopted.
And, as always, we work hard to help families keep their dogs whenever possible by offering community programs and free socialization classes. The Pet Food Bank has been in great demand: we’ve given out roughly 3,925 pounds of dog food! And our spay-neuter program, RRAAP, is making a difference in the community: we’ve helped alter 68 dogs so far this year!
How does our experience correlate with national statistics? An estimated 3.1 million dogs enter shelters each year. That’s down from 3.9 million in 2011, but now they appear to be on the upswing again. One shelter in Kern County recently reported taking in more than 150 animals in a single weekend! According to People Magazine, Best Friends Society estimated that at the end of January, 2022, dogs in shelters were already up by 60,000 and cats by 40,000. What is more, these steep increases are occurring at a time when understaffing is rife.
How you can help
As you can see, rescue dogs need us more than ever, but with your help, we’ll save more lives despite the animal shelter crisis. Here are some great ways you’ll make a real difference:
- Volunteer to help the dogs in our care
- Foster puppies, seniors, special needs dogs
- Donate to our Community Programs
- Give to the General Fund
- Join the Kennel Squad Program and support Rescue Ranch year round. With a monthly gift as low as $10, you can help save lives every day.
And, as always, adopt, adopt, adopt!
