Pottsville, PA SPCA Adoption and Foster needed

http://www.hillsidespca.com/ The over-population problem at the Hillside is at an absolute CRISIS level. I spoke with the shelter manager, Barb Umlauf, yesterday and she told me that she has never seen the situation this bad since the formative years of the shelter, almost 20 years ago. There are 100 plus dogs at the shelter and a couple hundred cats. Dogs are coming in at the rate of 6 or 10 a day and the adoption numbers are not keeping up with that rate. There is almost no where to go with the dogs. Some are even bunking down in an old bathtub. They are doubled up in kennels and it's a very bad situation. Of course, the situation with the cats is no better. They are filled to the rafters, too. This time of year is always bad. Cats and kittens come in by the "litter load", dogs are surrendered because the weather is nice and people don't want to be "tied down" with an animal to care for, or they are moving, or they are finished school and going away in a few months, or are going on vacation and don't have anybody to watch the dog - the excuses come to the shelter by the dozens - and so do the animals. Many have come to the shelter in the past few weeks as a result of cruelty investigations, including several farm animals. The shelter cannot turn their backs on those in need... It is times like this when the shelter is will be forced to do what they have not had to do in a long long time - euthanize because of over-crowding. This is something that is NEVER taken lightly. It is something the Hillside pledges not to do unless there is absolutely no way around it. Unfortunately, it is becoming close to that time. There have been some "close calls" in the past few years where it looked like the shelter might have to euthanize because of over-crowding, but our supporters heard our pleas and helped avert a tragedy. I hope and pray that this time will be the same. To be honest with you, the crisis they are experiencing right now is one of the absolute worst. There truly is NO room for more animals. We need a miracle... PLEASE - if you know anyone interested in adopting visit the shelter as soon as possible. If you know anyone who might foster a few animals to relieve the over-crowding, PLEASE contact the shelter at 570-622-7769 immediately. If you know any rescuegroups who can help, please let them know the plight of the shelter. This is literally a matter of life or death. Can you even start to imagine what it will be like for the people who work and volunteer at the shelter if they have to go in each morning and decide a precious life must end? How do you make that decision? How do you bear the guilt? How do you look at Harley who has been there 7 months and can't get a home and decide if he lives hoping for another chance or dies to give someone else a chance? Do you have any idea what it's like to hold a healthy animal in your arms while he or she dies just because there are "too many"? Do you turn away a new incoming animal, knowing that they will most likely be abandoned or do you take in a new one and sentence one that's there already to die? The thought of it all is horrifying, and the Hillside has been blessed in that they have not had to euthanize for a long, long time- since the inception of the shelter almost 20 years ago. Please don't let it happen now... And what about the animals themselves...don't they all deserve a chance? You can help. You can make a difference. Please consider adopting today. That's the only way this crisis can end. If you cannot adopt, please consider fostering an animal or two. Foster homes are in VERY short supply and can really make a difference in the life of an animal and in the shelter's predicament. Many people are in an excellent position to foster some animals, yet they never really gave it serious consideration. Won't you help in any way you can today? Thank you for your support. The animals at the Hillside SPCA really need all the friends they can get right now. Won't you be one of them? Regards, Lori Fogg - Hillside SPCA Web Manager / List Manager Penny McCaffrey http://www.hillsidespca.com/