'We Have Dogs In Our Offices': Humane Society Reports Huge Intake

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — "Raining cats and dogs" may be an idiom to most, but it's almost a reality for South Suburban Humane Society CEO Emily Klehm, who manages two shelters that have been above capacity for over five months.

"We have dogs in community rooms and dogs in our offices, and that's even with having dogs in foster care," Klehm told Patch.

According to Klehm, who has worked at the Humane Society for 14 years, the uptick in intake isn't isolated to Homewood or Chicago Heights. Multiple Humane Society shelters across the Chicagoland area have reported being given more cats and dogs than their staff can handle. The issue became so pressing, Klehm said, that workers from no-kill shelters around the state began comparing notes.

"We've been constantly trying to analyze what's going on, and we've hit at a pattern that's really upsetting," Klehm said. "It always happens around the first of the month. We always have a surge."

For many renters, the first of the month marks the deadline to pay rent, move in or move out. After nearly 18 months of renter's assistance on the state and national level amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois families still report housing insecurity as a result. Since some apartments and short-term rental stays don't allow pets in their units, Klehm said she believes families are faced with no other choice than to let their pet loose.

While that doesn't account for all 465 dogs and cats in SSHS's care as of last week, workers said they anticipated an increase was coming after recognizing similar patterns they hadn't seen since the 2008 recession.

"When we entered the recession, we had just huge intakes," said Klehm. "And we're now seeing some of the same indicators. We have more people visiting our pet food bank, today we completely ran out of food. We were scrambling, and we only had these free samples to hand out."

The pet food bank started in 2008 and is completely free to local pet-owners in service of the Human Society's first mission: proactively helping families hold on to their pets. Posted on the side of both shelters is a sign that asks, "How can we help you keep your pet today?"

For the shelter, that effort comes from ensuring owners know where to go if their pet does get lost, providing free or reduced veterinary care and giving away free dog food through their pet food bank. While Klehm acknowledged the best solutions to the growing problem need to be proactive, shelter workers aren't able to step in when it comes to housing.

"If this is our new normal, then we have to figure out some new strategies," she said. "We want to utilize social media and do more community outreach, especially to preexisting pet owners. If [people] think they need to lose a pet family member because they can't afford them, we want them to come to us first before they have to make that really horrible decision."

But when the decision has to be made, Klehm said the only tool left is adoption. In 2021 alone, the United States saw about a 12 percent increase in pet fostering and adoption. The south suburban shelter currently has over 200 dogs or cats in foster homes, but they're always looking for more candidates who are open to give an animal a break from the sometimes stressful shelter environment.

Luckily, Klehm said, winter typically sees a decrease in animal intake since fewer kittens are born in the colder months. That break will give the shelter the chance to promote some of their longer-stay animals and larger breed dogs.

"Big dogs are a challenge for sure, that's because they take so much longer to find homes," Klehm said. "'Bully' breed and pit bulls are a big percentage of what we get in."

The shelter waived adoption fees for pets over one-year-old through last Sunday and has another adoption event coming up Friday at Sunrise Senior Living in Palos Park. Anyone interested in adopting, fostering or volunteering can find more information on the Humane Society's website.

For those who aren't able to donate their time or space but are still interested in helping, Klehm said the pet food bank is always accepting donations of any type of cat or dog food with no restrictions on brand or size. She also had a message for potential pet owners who are deciding between a shelter dog and one from a breeder.

"In my opinion, a rescue dog knows that you rescued them, so there's a bond that exists that's unlike any other, she said. "There's a misperception that these pets are broken and that's why they ended up in a shelter, but it's through no fault of their own that they ended up here. There's truly something for everyone."