Mohawk Hudson Humane Society averts space crisis-- for now

MENANDS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The space crisis at a local animal shelter has been averted, with 125 adoptions in the past week. However, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society officials warn the root cause of the overcrowding remains: a serious shortage of kennel space in proportion to the number of animals coming in.

When the shelter pleaded with the public for help last Monday, they had more than 400 animals in their care. One week later, that number is down to 297. CEO Ashley Jeffrey Bouck said it’s clear the community cares about animals with how they showed up to adopt, and enough donations have come in to allow the shelter to sponsor adoptions for the rest of the month.

“It’s fantastic, but at the same point, it’s just one week. Our space crisis has been averted, but we’re constantly getting in new animals all the time from our municipal partners,” said Bouck.

Officials said the shelter will help area municipalities develop their own facilities in any way possible, but the issue won’t be fixed overnight.

"A lot of it is long-term planning, which is fantastic, but those conversations do need to happen, because we can’t keep going like this,” Bouck explained.

Schenectady Police Lieutenant Ryan Macherone said the department has been receiving a high number of stray calls in the city, echoing the crisis at the shelter. When the department heard of the overcrowding, they took five of the shelter’s dogs into one of their overflow kennels to look after them for a while.

"We know they’re helping a lot of others as well, so we’re doing our small part to help them back because that’s important to us," Macherone said.

Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is heading into its busiest time of year for intake, and is asking the community to continue to adopt, volunteer, and donate. There are new animals becoming ready for adoption every day, so they suggest checking the website regularly.