ODESSA, Texas — The Humane Society of Odessa is currently facing the prospect of closing its doors due to overpopulation issues at their sites.
They currently operate two adoption sites and both of them are currently filled with animals looking for a home.
“If we can get a lot of our dogs adopted, it will help out so much with our numbers,” said Director Heather Silvia.
The financial strain of operating with so many animals in the shelter along with making payments for various bills and veterinarians has put the Human Society in a bit of a bind.
Much of the strain comes because of the aforementioned overpopulation issues, which is primarily due to a high amount of animal dumping in Odessa and strays that are found on the streets.
“With the amount of animals that we've had that have come in injured, we've had very, very high vet bills, so we have to pay the vet," Office Manager Christyna Taylor said. "The money that is used and that is donated goes towards vet bills, it goes towards the electric bill, the water bill, that's what it pays for.”
Because the Humane Society also operates as a strict no-kill shelter, the animals who do end up with them end up staying until they find a home, which can take a long time.
Silvia and Taylor have also noticed that larger dog breeds have been having a harder time getting adopted.
However, those within the Humane Society are already taking action to try and find a solution to their overpopulation problem.
“We have been reaching out to other states and to other rescues. I think I have a list right now of 175 rescues that just me alone have been reaching out to last Wednesday," Taylor said. "We've got quite a few other people here that are also reaching out to rescues.”
However, if these issues are not resolved, then the future could be quite murky for not just the employees at the Humane Society of Odessa, but for the animals there as well.
"If we end up closing down...we're already trying now to get people to take the dogs, so what if there is an end date on that?" Taylor said. "If it comes down to if we are closed, we have no idea what's going to happen to them."
In an effort to combat the situation, the Humane Society of Odessa has also waived adoption fees for long-term adoptions as long as an applicant can provide a good home and fill out the proper application.