A 'crisis' on the shore — animal intake on the rise

EASTON — Animal shelters across the Eastern Shore are facing higher levels of dog and cat intake than seen in years past.

Patty Crankshaw-Quimby, executive director of Talbot Humane, said that just in the first six months of this calendar year, the shelter has seen a significant increase in the number of animals entering its care.

There has been a 35% increase in dog intake and a 25% increase in cat intake this year over 2023, she said. Crankshaw-Quimby noted that the shelter has yet to reach its busiest time of the year for kitten, which is in the later summer months and early fall.

“This is a trend we are seeing across the country,” Crankshaw-Quimby said. “I am the president of Professional Animal Workers of Maryland, the state association of shelters and animal control agencies, and we are seeing crisis level intake in our larger municipalities.”

A similar trend is being seen in Caroline County.

Karen Culotta, director of the Caroline County Humane Society, said the number of dogs at the animal shelter has increased significantly over the past four years.

The shelter is currently at 95% capacity. Though Culotta said they spend all their efforts caring for all the animals they can, the influx has overwhelmed the shelter.

Culotta acknowledged that it is difficult to determine the exact reason for the influx. She said it seems to go beyond issues of pets going without being spayed or neutered. She speculates that it could be economically driven.

“For some people, with the cost of vet care going up, with the cost of everything going up, or, since the pandemic, sometimes (people) can’t afford to feed their animals or can’t afford to get vaccinations, which is required of every cat and dog in the state of Maryland,” Culotta said. “It’s very challenging for everybody here.”

Crankshaw-Quimby said that the Talbot County Shelter has embedded essential programs to help address the large number of animals the shelter is facing.

“We work very hard to keep animals out of the shelter with our robust assortment of programs; however, being an open admission shelter that turns no county resident in need of surrendering their pet away, as well as performing the role of animal control, one large animal control seizure or a wave of animal surrenders could put us over the top,” Crankshaw-Quimby said. “This is why the foster, spay/neuter and intervention programs are so very important.”

Culotta said she has contacted directors of other local shelters, and they have noted the “odd” rise in intake.

“It’s definitely a crisis here on the Eastern Shore,” Culotta said.

Culotta and Crankshaw-Quimby encouraged residents to partake in spray/neuter programs and to sign-up to take in foster animals, particularly dogs, at a local shelter. Participating in these programs can assist shelters as they go through high animal intake, they said.