DeKalb County, GA — LifeLine Animal Project says the situation at the DeKalb County Animal Shelter is dire and the organization needs to place 150 dogs by the end of this month.

“LifeLine Animal Project, the organization that manages the DeKalb County shelter, is urgently trying to find adopters and fosters for at least 150 dogs by January 31, 2023,” the organization said in a press release. “There are nearly 600 dogs at the shelter, which has been operating at critical capacity for over a year.  If more animals do not leave the facility, either through adoption or to foster homes, the shelter will have to euthanize dogs to make space.”

The DeKalb County animal shelter, built in 2017, was designed for 450 dogs at full capacity.

“Largely due to economic and housing factors, pet adoptions are down 31% over this time last year,” LifeLine announced. “DeKalb’s shelter no longer has room to humanely house dogs, nor space for incoming pets in need.”

LifeLine’s shelters in DeKalb and Fulton counties have also experienced recent outbreaks of canine flu. LifeLine Animal Project opened a temporary facility in midtown to divert all emergency dog intake from DeKalb and Fulton counties to help manage the current outbreak of the canine flu at its three shelters.

“The current economic situation, the nationwide drop in shelter adoptions and now, the emergence of canine flu in our community – all have negatively affected dogs, both inside and outside our shelters,” Rebecca Guinn, CEO of LifeLine Animal Project, said in a press release. “In the past, we’ve had the capacity to create lifesaving options for dogs in our care who require more specialized placement. Now, we are completely out of options for many dogs and will have to make very painful decisions if we can’t get help from our community to quickly reduce the overall number of dogs living in our DeKalb shelter.”

LifeLine is offering $23 adoptions this month, which includes spay / neuter and microchip fees valued at $250.

To see available animals, visit LifeLineAnimal.org.

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