Dog shelter prepares for capacity surge following Fourth of July holiday

This is the busiest time of year for dog shelters in our area. Since the Fourth of July, only three dogs have been turned into the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter, but the shelter administrator said that number is going to greatly change when the county in-take round-ups begin Monday afternoon. On average, the shelter will have around 50-80 dogs turned in over the next two weeks.

In preparation for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter worked to clear its crates by giving 30 dogs news homes.

“We were able to find some wonderful homes for many of our dogs in anticipation for dogs that will be coming in from the fireworks,” said Mindy Naticchioni, Shelter Administrator at the Cuyahoga County Animal Shetler.

Naticchioni said the first half of July is their busiest time of year, especially following the holiday where dogs run away or often times get lost following fireworks and being outside during celebrations.

“We generally see over the next two weeks anywhere from 50 to 80 dogs come in it becomes critical really quickly,” said Naticchioni.

If you’ve lost your dog owners can fill out a lost and found report on the shelter website, without any pet identification dogs can only be held for three days and it could get harder to find your dog.

“After three days, it legally becomes our pet, and we can adopt and transfer it out, dogs that come in with a 2024 dog license are held for two weeks so you have a lot longer time to find your pet if you’re not sure where it’s been,” said Naticchioni.

Starting this Monday, to combat surging capacity another adoption event is kicking off.

“Which will also reduce adoption fees for those who don’t come to reclaim their pet so we can continue to make space so any stray dog that comes here has a kennel as we look for its owner,” said Naticchioni.

If you have lost your pet, click here to see if they’ve been found. The adoption event starts Monday and goes until the end of the month.

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