San Francisco animal shelter full as economy goes to dogs

S.F. animal shelter full as economy goes to dogs
Vivian Ho, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 2, 2011


SAN FRANCISCO -- For San Francisco's animal shelter, the dog days of summer are far from over.

With hard-pressed pet owners surrendering their animals in booming numbers, the city's Animal Care and Control agency has issued an unprecedented order: Don't bring your dog here. The shelter is full.

"It's something we haven't really run across before," Kat Brown, the agency's deputy director, said Thursday. "People have to make these hard decisions about giving up a dog because they're either out of work, have to move, or can no longer afford to keep their dog."

Dog drop-offs are way up at the shelter at 15th and Harrison streets. In the most recent fiscal year, 2,800 dogs passed through the shelter, an increase of 300 over the year before.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/01/BADU1KV2MI.DTL#ixzz1WoA0hMgN



Juicy the shih tzu waits to be adopted from San Francisco Animal Care and Control, which is filled to capacity with pets.
Photo: Lance Iversen / The Chronicle


Schwanna Edwards of Richmond hugs Madeleine, a 3-month-old pit bull mix she hopes to adopt from the San Francisco shelter.
Photo: Lance Iversen / The Chronicle

have been neglecting their medical care for over 4 years.

One thing is for sure: it ain't the 80s anymore.