DENVER (KDVR) — The Dumb Friends League says it is facing a capacity crisis at all three of its facilities.
The Leslie A Malone Center in Denver, the Buddy Center in Castle Rock and the San Luis Valley Animal Center in Alamosa have all recently seen a big increase in the number of dogs relinquished, and the number of strays.
“Our buildings are full of dogs,” Katie Parker, the vice president of sheltering said. “We haven’t seen these numbers for a really long time.”
Since 2019, the last “normal” year, there has been a 40% increase in the number of stray dogs they’ve taken in and a 15% increase in the number of dogs relinquished by their owner.
“We feel like the world was just really disrupted by COVID, first, and then the economy,” Parker said.
She is hoping more people will come and offer the dogs a forever home.
The league works to match the dogs with compatible homes. The dogs are spayed, neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Costs range from $50 to $250.