NYC animal shelters are overcrowded with dogs, and few people are adopting them

New York City animal shelters are overwhelmed with dogs, and fewer people are showing up to adopt them.

Animal Care Centers of NYC said it’s still dealing with overcrowding that has plagued shelters since the number of returned pets surged after a pandemic-era adoption boom. But Katy Hansen, a spokesperson for the city animal shelters, explained in an interview that the problem isn’t that an unusual number of New Yorkers are surrendering their pets. Instead, it’s that adoptions are way down.

In 2018, about 700 dogs were adopted from ACC shelters per quarter. In 2020, that figure dropped to 180 dogs per quarter. In the first quarter of this year, there were 311 dog adoptions – not even half of the pre-pandemic rate.

“We're completely overpopulated with dogs,” Hansen said. “We have dogs in cages in the hallways, in offices, in every nook and cranny that we can find.”

The rate of placement for dogs at ACC shelters — which includes adoptions, returning pets to their owners, and transferring them to other facilities — in 2018 was 93%. That rate has dropped to 88%, according to Hansen. Dogs that don’t receive a placement are euthanized. According to ACC statistics, 4,322 dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals were euthanized last year. None of the animals were deemed “healthy.”

“Adoptions are down so much that it's creating an overpopulation as animals sit and wait to be adopted,” Hansen said.

Aurora Velazquez, regional director of Best Friends Animal Society, a national network of no-kill shelters, said the high cost of owning a pet is a big reason for the decrease in adoptions.

“It can be incredibly expensive,” she said.

New York is the second most expensive state to own a dog, according to a 2023 MarketWatch study. The annual cost is just over $3,000. In the past year, veterinarian services have increased by nearly 6%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“They can't afford to have a pet, so people are hesitant to make that commitment now through adoptions,” Hansen said.

Housing is another major factor. Gothamist reported last year that the cost of living was the top reason that animals were surrendered to shelters. Hansen noted that many rental apartments allow cats, but it can be tougher to find ones that allow dogs.

A “critical capacity” alert that went into effect last year at city animal shelters remains in place. The shelters say they won’t accept dog surrenders under most circumstances.

“Dogs really are the big issue right now in shelters,” Velazquez said. “Cats are just a little easier to house and less places have restrictions on owning cats and how many cats you can have in your apartment.”

As a result, the average length of an animal's shelter stay has just about tripled compared to 2018. A medium-sized dog stays in a shelter for an average of 24 days, according to ACC statistics published last month. There were 354 dogs in ACC shelters on a typical day last month. The ideal capacity is 185.

Hansen said this has a negative impact on dogs already dealing with abandonment. Because of overcrowding, dogs are walked less frequently and receive less attention and time outdoors, which can cause them to deteriorate further. Some dogs at ACC have spent more than 100 days in a cage.

“They go kennel crazy,” Hansen said. “They spin around in the kennel. They bite the kennel bars. They’re just really anxious.” She added that the shelter strives to keep all healthy dogs as long as possible and does not have a strict policy on when to euthanize pets.

Alexander Craig, a spokesperson for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said animals end up staying in the shelter longer as a result of behavioral and medical issues. The longer a pet stays in an overcrowded intake facility, the more likely it is to get sick and become less likely to be adopted, further contributing to the overcrowding.

Animal shelters encourage owners who are thinking of giving up their pet for financial reasons to ask about programs that provide housing attorneys and even food pantries for pets. The ASPCA offers partially and fully subsidized veterinary care.

For animal lovers who are on the fence about committing to a pet, there is also foster care, which Hansen said gives an animal a reprieve from a cage and decreases the number of animals living in shelters.

Hansen said anyone ready for a pet should visit their local shelter before going to a pet store or a breeder. About 34% of dog owners got their pooches from breeders, compared to 23% from a shelter, according to the ASPCA. She said a pet from a breeder can cost as much as $6,000, while a shelter animal comes vaccinated, neutered and microchipped for $75.

“If folks are thinking about bringing a pet into their home, there is no better time to do it than now. Like truly now,” Velazquez said. “Adoption, perhaps more than ever, is life-saving. And there are really incredible, really lovely animals who have been in shelter for far too long.”