AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WFXG) - South Carolina animal shelters are under a state of emergency. Locations across the Palmetto State are at capacity and intake is not letting up. 

“Nearly every shelter in the state, including the two largest shelters, Greenville County Animal Care and Charleston Animal Society, are at the breaking point and need help now,” said Abigail Appleton, No Kill South Carolina 2024 Chief Project Officer. These and other lifesaving organizations are critically overcapacity and there’s no sign of it letting up. We must move these animals into homes now, especially as we enter the peak of hurricane season,” said Appleton.

Not only does this mean less space, but in some cases, it could also mean bottlenecks for needed surgeries such as spays and neuters. South Carolina shelters need your help caring for these animals and getting them into loving homes.

"We weren’t having enough spay and neuter appointments to accommodate all the animals. So, of course, we spay and neuter all of our animals before adoption and so we were bottlenecked.” said Susan Gainey, SPCA Albrecht Center Executive Director.

The SPCA Albrecht Center recently called on regional vets to help address this need.

"We organized to have two vets from about two hours away in South Carolina and we were able to get about 60 shelter animals spayed and neutered in four days.” said Gainey.

A  long-term solution might not be an easy fix. SPCA Albrecht Center Executive Director Susan Gainey says her staff is being met with the perfect storm: kitten season, inflation, lasting pandemic impacts and not enough expert help.

"I think it was a combination of things…including a nationwide vet shortage.” said Gainey.

For now, this means a full house for felines and canines alike.

"Unfortunately, we’re having to put them in temporary housing, collapsible crates and so we are definitely at capacity.” said Gaines.

This can also mean less opportunities to save more animals.

"We are at risk of possibly having to turn animals away." said Gaines.

"That has potential for a lot more strays to be out, especially when these animals are not spayed and neutered, that obviously causes overpopulation.” said Samaria Fenner, SPCA Albrecht Center Marketing Director.

Friends of the Animal Shelter is also experiencing overcrowding:

"We are experiencing overcrowding and the rate of intaking stray animals and surrendered pets has NOT let up at all this summer. But it has not greatly impacted surgical procedures or scheduling of spay/neuter surgeries. What has impacted our amount of surgeries is dogs and cats getting hit by cars because they aren’t properly managed by owners. We currently have a kitten that has a severe head tilt due to trauma from being hit by a car and we’ve adopted out several “tri-pod” dogs who lost a leg after it was shattered from being hit by a vehicle. Please stress to people in your story that they cannot let their animals stay outside, loose without a fenced in yard or watching them closely—or their pets will eventually get injured or killed on the roads. A lot of our strays are found in the middle of busy streets, dodging traffic. It’s heartbreaking." said Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communication Director.

You can help your local shelter by adopting.

"If you’re interested in adopting at all, now is the time.” said Gainey.

If you can’t give these animals a permanent home, SPCA Albrecht Center staff say a temporary home helps right now, too.

"More than anything, if you can’t adopt, at least hold them in for two three weeks. That’s how long we like for our fosters to go out.” said Fenner.

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