Every kennel is occupied in the City of Chico’s Animal Shelter. Inside, dogs bark and jump on their cages and their tails wag with excitement. Some have waited to get adopted for months, while others have waited for more than a year.
“We've been hovering at max capacity for quite a while now,” said Gina Catallo-Kokoletsos, Chico’s animal services manager. “That's not just a Chico problem. That's nationwide. There's a shelter crisis.”
The animal shelter crisis has been going on for years. Overall intakes to shelters decreased in 2024, but animals have been experiencing longer stays at shelters.
Nationwide, nearly 325,000 animals in the first half of 2024 were still at shelters waiting to be adopted.
Why shelters are full
One reason Catallo-Kokoletsos pointed to is that it’s expensive for people to own a pet. California is the most expensive state to own a dog, according to a study from MarketWatch Guides. The study estimates an owner will spend more than $35,000 over the course of their pet’s lifetime.
There are programs like the Butte Humane Society’s Pet Food and Supply Pantry that help relieve the cost of having a pet, but some expenses are difficult to maintain, Catallo-Kokoletsos said.
“When it comes to the higher medical costs, there's a lot that goes into that that people can't pay for. So we see animals with medical issues coming in that people aren't able to take care of,” she said.
Finding housing that allows pets is also often an issue. Pet-friendly homes are typically less affordable. Rentals and home insurance companies can also have breed restrictions, making it even more difficult for certain types of dogs to find homes.
“Rottweilers, pit bulls, dobermans, things like that, aren't allowed because of insurance. So we do get a lot of large breed dogs because people can't have them where they live,” Catallo-Kokoletsos said.
The shelter has also seen an increase in puppies. Catallo-Kokoletsos said that’s because people can’t afford spay or neuter services, or are unable to book an appointment with a vet.
“We get more puppies in than I have ever seen in my 13 years in animal welfare,” she said.
To exacerbate the shelter issue, there is also an ongoing veterinarian shortage. Although that shortage is slowing down, the shelter has received calls looking for services. Many of the callers have told Catallo-Kokoletsos that local vets are booked for months out. The Chico Animal Shelter does not have a vet on site.
How the Chico Animal Shelter is handling the crisis
The Chico Animal Shelter is mandated to take in stray dogs, but it only takes in dogs being surrendered by their owner when they have space.
“We're less likely to be able to take in owner surrenders because we're so heavily impacted. In full, there's nowhere to put that dog,” Catallo-Kokletsos said. “We're not able to help with that as much as we used to be.”
The shelter has a waitlist for surrendered dogs. In the meantime, they recommend people try to rehome animals themselves through friends and family. She also suggested reaching out to other organizations or posting the animal on websites like adoptapet.com or Facebook.
The Chico Animal Shelter takes in sick, injured stray or unowned cats and orphaned underage kittens. They do not take in healthy cats and have not taken in surrendered cats in over a decade. They recommend people take cats to nearby shelters. Though occasionally they do make exceptions if the situation is urgent.
The shelter’s volunteer program, Pet Pals, has provided some relief. Volunteers are sent into the city with microchip scanners. When they find a dog they scan it for a chip, making it easier to reunite a dog with an owner. This is better for the dogs, Catallo-Kokoletsos said, because kennels can be stressful.
“We try to be creative with how we can get animals back to their owner without having to come in here or be in a kennel,” she said.
The shelter also has a foster program where people can provide temporary care for animals that are up for adoption. Foster homes can reduce stress for animals that might be anxious in shelter settings and free up space for other animals that need help.
At the moment, there are 56 adoptable dogs and two adoptable cats in the shelter. Many are larger breeds, as small breeds have higher adoption rates. Even purebreds are brought into the shelter, Catallo-Kokoletsos said. That includes a doberman named Jasper. He’s been at the shelter for a few months now.
“Ten years ago, if we had a beautiful doberman like that, he would have been adopted really quickly,” she said.
The shelter has adoption walkthrough hours from 2 to 4 p.m. every Monday through Thursday. People can also schedule appointments by submitting an adoption survey.