‘It is a lifesaving issue’: SC animal shelters ask for help in overcrowding emergency
Animal shelters and foster programs across South Carolina are facing an emergency with too many dogs and cats and not enough homes, according to the Charleston Animal Society.
The group is launching an emergency adoption drive with free or low-cost adoptions until the end of the year. The group has a goal to find homes for 500 dogs and 400 cats from nine shelters around the state.
“Many shelters are on the verge of having to euthanize healthy animals to make room,” according to the Pick Me SC adoption website.
The Charleston Animal Society said it’s unprecedented for so many animals to need homes in December.
“We have never seen this level of severe overcrowding of homeless animals at this time of year,” Joe Elmore, president of the Charleston Animal Society, said on Facebook.
“It’s as if we were being threatened by a major hurricane; our brothers and sisters across the state are desperate and we need the help of all South Carolinians. This is not a fundraising issue; it is a lifesaving issue,” he said.
The participating shelters are:
- Anderson County: Anderson County Paws
- Charleston County: Charleston Animal Society
- Chester County: Chester County Animal Care and Enforcement
- Clarendon County: A Second Chance Animal Shelter
- Florence County: Animal Shelter of Florence County
- Georgetown County: Saint Francis Animal Center
- Horry County: Horry County Animal Care Center
- Laurens County: Laurens County Animal Shelter
- Williamsburg County: Williamsburg County Animal Care and Control
