Estill County animal shelter in a code red

In Estill County, the animal shelter is in a code red. They're well above their capacity.

Estill County, Ky (WTVQ): In Estill County, the animal shelter is in a code red. They’re well above their capacity.

Ashley Collins with the Estill County Animal Shelter says currently the shelter has more than one dog to a kennel. “We had 38 dogs in 22 kennels. we have had some rescues step up and tag which means they’ve committed to that dog,” she said.

Collins says this is a problem they’ve seen for a few years. but got worse after the pandemic. “Everybody got dogs and puppies during Covid. then when they went back to work, they couldn’t keep them or didn’t want them,” she said.

Collins says in too many cases there’s dogs abandoned, left on the side of the road to fend for themselves. currently the shelter has a waiting list. She attributes a lot of the problem to the fact there aren’t more spay and neuter laws in Kentucky. “That is one of the problems, there’s not laws allot to help people who are hoarding, breeding like back yard breeders,” she said.

Collins says a lot of the dogs come from hoarding situations. “It’s constant. their dog got pregnant, and they took their mama and left the puppies.”

If you want to help and adopt a dog this holiday season, you can call the Estill County Animal Shelter at  (606) 723-3587.