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Jerry is a sweet, super social pit bull mix with Kreitzer’s Critter and Puppy Corral. He was left at a shelter with his siblings.
Between people losing jobs and not being able to afford their animals and COVID puppies — now adult dogs — being taken to shelters once owners went back to the office, already strained resources have been pushed to the breaking point.
According to a study done by Best Friends Animal Society, the number of dogs and cats killed in U.S. shelters in 2021 increased from 347,000 to 355,000. North Carolina was one of five states that made up 50 percent of the overall number of dogs and cats killed (Texas, California, Florida, and Alabama were the other chief contributors).
And this crisis can’t be fixed by shelters and rescues alone. We desperately need community support to reverse the tide on North Carolina’s pet euthanasia rates. Here’s how you can help
If you need help with food, reach out to rescues or food pantries. Many of them have donated food they can give you.
If your dog needs training to be a good fit with your family, invest in it. And if you absolutely must rehome your pet, try to keep them with you until a new home is found. The reality is that your dog may not make it out of a shelter alive, especially if it is any type of pit bull or primarily black in color. Adoption rates on the whole have decreased, so even if your dog is one of the more “desirable” breeds, it may still be euthanized if an adopter doesn’t come forward by its “last day” date.
Unwanted litters from unfixed dogs are the biggest contributor to pet overpopulation.
If you are looking to add a new fur family member, check out your local shelters and rescues. You can find many puppies and various breeds, including the ever-coveted doodles, in shelters and rescues.
You can foster puppies, elderly dogs, adult dogs, specific breeds. Fostering any dog clears up a spot in shelters and allows shelter staff more time to get other dogs out. Faith, Hope and Love Animal Rescue NC and Kreitzer’s Critter and Puppy Corral are two rescues we know well and recommend; and Faith, Hope and Love has multiple dogs in boarding right now, because of lack of fosters.
We could re-home way more pit bull and pitty mixes were it not for unfair stereotypes that paint these dogs as something they aren’t. More people would also be able to adopt were it not for breed restrictions in many apartment and HOA communities. Bully breeds, German Shepherds, and Rottweilers in particular need your advocacy.
Whenever possible, please support the many shelters and rescues around you. No donation is too small, and reputable rescues put the money directly back into getting the animals vetted and cared for while waiting for their forever homes.
You never know who in your network might be scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and see a dog’s picture and decide to foster or adopt. That’s exactly how I got my blue pit bull, Stella. I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a post from Carolina Big Hearts Big Barks asking for a foster. That was two years ago, and today, she is my whole world.
Timina is the full time Personal Assistant/Mom to her rescue pitty Stella. She also has two human teenagers and works as a content strategist.
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