LAURA CLARK GETS UP AT THE crack of dawn every day, before putting on a pair of well-worn working boots and heading down to Colleton County Animal Shelter in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Clark and her team of 15 paid staff then take on the enormous task of cleaning up after, exercising, arranging veterinary care for, and feeding the more than 300 domestic animals ranging from cats to rabbits they've rescued from across their South Carolina county.
Surprisingly, there is one creature that by far outnumbers all the other animals in need residing at Clark's shelter: dogs.
"We only have 65 permanent dog kennels. Technically, we would keep five open at all times for new dogs, so our capacity is really 60. At the moment we have 195 dogs in our care, 141 of which are at the shelter full time," Clark, director of Colleton County Animal Shelter, told Newsweek. She added that dogs also take up half of the shelter staff's workload.
Indeed, Clark's shelter has been over capacity for two years now, she said, and her staff of 15, including four animal control officers, are now caring for 81 more dogs than they have the capacity for. Historically, the shelter has welcomed even numbers of cats and dogs, but dogs have largely exceeded the number of incoming cats since 2021.
While the shelter may simply look busy to outsiders, Clark said the root cause of the overload shelters are now facing is not intake numbers or return rates, which she said have remained in line with pre-pandemic levels, but rather a concerning drop in adoptions.
"When I first started working, the shelter took in over 3,000 pets per year, which has come down to around 2,000. The numbers have drastically reduced," Clark said.
She said adoptions, particularly of dogs, have plummeted nationwide for reasons ranging from sky-high living costs in the current economic environment to unethical breeding.
Esta historia es de la edición December 22, 2023 de Newsweek Europe.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición December 22, 2023 de Newsweek Europe.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The Fight To Ban Child Marriage
Under-18s can legally wed in most U.S. states but young spouses are often left physically, emotionally and economically vulnerable, campaigners say
Major League Error
Why baseball fans have long thought Ty Cobb to be a racist when he wasn't
The TikTok Election
With both Donald Trump and Joe Biden now on the app, could it help determine the next U.S. president in November?
Failure to Deliver
Multinational companies embraced Chinese factories to lower costs. Their excessive reliance ended up being a central cause of the COVID supply chain meltdown
BEST SPECIALISTS & SURGEONS
FINDING THE BEST MEDICAL SPECIALIST IS A DAUNTING TASK for anyone requiring specific treatment.
SURGEONS MAGIC TOUCH
Americans turn down syringes but go UNDER SCALPELS. What do these doctors know that the rest of medicine doesn't?
ARABIAIAN MIGHT
SAUDI ARABIA'S INCREASING STRENGTH MEANS IT NOW HAS MUCH MORE CLOUT WITH ITS PARTNERS, INCLUDING THE U.S.
Bringing Trump's Trial to Life
Sketch artist Isabelle Brourman tells Newsweek what it was like covering the former president’s court case
Iran Examines the Nuclear Option
Tehran’s rhetoric could spark an arms race in the Middle East like never before
Climate Conviction at What Price?
Fifty years ago experts doubted Americans would pay to save the environment. Only some of their fears are still true