Adopt A Shelter Pet Day: These Montgomery County Pets Need Homes

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Here’s a number to keep in mind on National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day on Sunday: 5,471. That’s the number of cats and dogs shelters in Maryland took in during the first three months of the year.

The national database Shelter Animals Count keeps a running tally of abandoned and surrendered pets, based on reports from local shelters around the country. Euthanasia rates are rising with the increase in the number of cats and dogs that wind up in shelters.

In some cases, the rate at which healthy dogs and cats are put down has more than doubled, according to a Scripps News Service investigation by reporters Clayton Sandell and Rachel Gold earlier this year.

Nationally, 1,267 shelters took in 454,233 cats and dogs from Jan. 1-March 31, according to the shelter census. About 50,380 were euthanized or did not survive for other reasons.

In Maryland, 15 organizations reported they took in 2,933 cats and 12 said the took in 2,538 dogs from Jan. 1 to March 31. Of the total cats and dogs taken in, 780 were euthanized or did not survive for other reasons.

In Montgomery County, four organizations took in 411 cats and dogs from Jan. 1-March 31, according to the shelter census. Seven were euthanized or did not survive for other reasons.

The number of cats and dogs taken in at animal shelters reached a high for the year in March, according to the Shelter Animals Count report. The actual number is likely much higher, as only about half of the nation’s 3,500 animal shelters filed intake reports.

In March, about 60,000 of the cats and dogs taken in by shelters were strays, but about 45,000 of them were surrendered by their owners.

According to the Scripps investigation, the reasons euthanasia rates are increasing are complex, ranging from logistical problems like a lack of space and staffing to decreasing demand for pets with the end of pandemic restrictions and the cost of keeping a pet amid high inflation.

“As people have returned to normal, and animals are staying behind,” Stephanie Filer, the CEO of Shelter Animals Count, told the Scripps reporters. “And so that whole system has essentially bottlenecked.”

National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day is an informal observance every year on April 30 to raise awareness of the million of cats, dogs and other pets waiting for adoption.

The Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center, which is located at 7315 Muncaster Mill Road in Derwood, is open for adoptions by appointment.

"We do allow walk-ins as well," said Maria Anselmo, the shelter's community relations manager. "If somebody's got an appointment, they're going to have first priority over a walk-in."

The shelter requires that each adopter be over 18 and have valid identification. For Montgomery County residents who already have dogs or cats as members of their household, each of those animals must have a license. Non-county residents with cats and dogs can fill out that information when they come to the shelter. They must also provide rabies certificates for the cats, dogs and ferrets in their home.

"Any dog or cat that's available for adoption is already spayed or neutered," Anselmo said. "They're also microchipped and have their basic core vaccines. We do not require that the pet owners resident pets are altered. We certainly encourage that for for anyone, but that's not a requirement."

Those interested in adopting an animal can fill out a questionnaire on the shelter's website. Although descriptions of some of the adoptable animals are posted on the website.

"You don't get to pick a specific animal," Anselmo said. "We don't hold animals for anyone. You can choose a specific animal and put them on your questionnaire, we just won't reserve that animal for you. But once you've filled out a questionnaire and you send in a copy of your ID and those county pet license or rabies certificates, then our adoption counselors will email you a link to sign up for your appointment."