At Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control on Byrum Drive, cats, dogs, fish, even lizards are available for adoption. And the need is acute.
“We are at capacity as far as cats and dogs go," said Davier Lopez-Rodriguez, special projects specialist for Animal Care and Control. "As far as the cat situation, we were able to get that pretty much handled. A lot of fosters stepped up, thank you, but it has been like a constant challenge, as far as dogs, so we're to the point right now where we have an overflux.”
ACC is often near capacity, but what makes the current situation urgent is that between Oct. 1 and Oct. 23, dogs at the shelter stayed an average of 26 days before being adopted — up from roughly eight days during the same period last year.
In the past week alone, the shelter has taken in 124 dogs, an 8% increase from the previous week of Oct. 2–9.
The average length of stay measures how long an animal remains in the shelter’s care before being adopted.
Lopez-Rodriguez says the most important thing people can do is adopt, bring an animal out for a staycation or volunteer.
“It is a constant every day that we are pretty much just doing a plea to the public, just for people to come and adopt or even just do a staycation, that helps out as well. We're all just trying to push for more adoptions and just get more people to come and look at the shelter and adopt, versus going out and buying an animal.”
Elssa Willson and her boyfriend, Armon, from Davidson, returned to the shelter Thursday to take the same shelter dog out for another “daycation.” The couple first participated in the program on Sunday.
Having recently moved back to Davidson from Georgia — and with an elderly dog at home — the couple isn't ready to adopt, but they said the outings give them and the shelter dog a chance to enjoy some time outdoors.
“We have an elderly dog at home and we've been walking a lot, and I just felt bad for the dog we're going to take out. I've just been thinking about her all week and I was like, oh, we can take her out for the day and let her hang out. We're not in the position right now to like adopt or foster, but we figured this is like a good way to help.”
Animal Care and Control is planning to build a new $30-million facility to supplement their main building in west Charlotte, which is at capacity. Lopez-Rodriguez said the new location will house fully vaccinated, spayed and ready-to-go animals.
“Right now, this will still remain as the main center for anything that comes in, as far as like medical or checking in or stray hold, and then the new adoption center will be animals that are ready to go. So it'll be just animals that are ready to go, they have been fully vetted, and pretty much they're just looking for their forever homes.
If you’re looking to spend your free time helping animals, Animal Care and Control is always in need of volunteers.
Charlotte resident Tina Bear has been volunteering at the shelter for three years. When we met, she was walking Zeus, a pit bull mix who’s been waiting a few months for his forever home.
Doodles may be one of today’s trendier breeds, but Bear said dogs like Zeus often get overlooked — despite being some of the easiest to care for.
“They’re not guaranteed to be any better behaved than Zeus,” she said. “And on top of that, who wants a dog that has to be groomed every four weeks? You get a pit bull — they barely shed, they barely need a bath. They’re very low maintenance.”
Zeus is a 3-year-old male available for adoption at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control on Byrum Drive. His ID is A1231809.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control operates two shelters in the city. The main shelter, located at 8315 Byrum Drive, is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The satellite shelter, at 2700 Toomey Ave., is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
