ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Animal Shelter shared Thursday on Facebook that it is at full capacity and will no longer be able to accept new animals until more adoptions or foster placements occur.
Owner surrenders will be placed on a waiting list, and stray animals will be handled through animal control. The shelter emphasized that without more animals leaving the facility, it cannot take in additional ones.
“We are doing everything we can to care for the animals already in our shelter, but we need your help! Until we can get more of our current animals adopted or into foster homes, we simply cannot take in more,” read the post.
The message ended with, “Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Please consider adopting or fostering to help us save more lives.”
Earlier this month, the shelter posted a request for emergency fosters.
“We are desperately in need of emergency fosters for our fur babies. Our shelter is full, and we simply do not have the space for all the animals coming in. Fostering literally saves lives. If you’ve ever thought about fostering, now is the time to step up. Whether it’s a dog, cat, puppy, or kitten — even a few days in a safe home can make all the difference,” the post stated.
The shelter has continued working throughout the year to increase adoptions. In March, it held its first “Save a Life” event, where about 70 animals were available. Four dogs and one cat were adopted during the event.
During the March event, the Journal spoke with Tessie Caulder-Brigman, director of the Richmond County Animal Shelter, who shared the challenges the shelter faces with larger dogs.
“We’re having a hard time moving a lot of our medium and large-sized dogs. Even when they’re spayed and neutered, it’s hard to get people to pull them. We’ve reached out to 20-plus rescues in the last couple of weeks with no luck for our medium and large-sized dogs, so we’re kind of dependent on the public to come in here and help us get some moved,” Caulder-Brigman said. “We’ve had a great turnout; there’s been a couple of sponsorships down here, but people mainly want puppies and small kittens.”
To support ongoing efforts, the shelter has also taken part in community events like the Hamlet City Lake Pop-Up Market, Walk-N-Wag, and Paws for a Cause at Richmond Community College. It continues to offer reduced adoption fees to find permanent homes and work toward no-kill status.