Hallways filled with unadopted dogs as NYC shelters face overcrowding

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – New York City’s shelters are full to the brim with dogs, and not nearly enough people are adopting, according to Animal Care Centers of New York City.

Shelters’ offices and “hallways are lined with crates filled with dogs,” spokesperson Katy Hansen told PIX11 News. It’s an issue that has persisted for over a year, Hansen said. 

“Everywhere we can, we’re putting crates,” Hansen said.

Hansen attributes the issue to the city’s affordability crisis – as the cost of rent and vet bills skyrocket, adopting a dog seems more daunting. 

To alleviate the cost, the shelters can offer pet owners things like a pet food pantry, low cost training and medical bill relief, but many affordability issues remain out of the centers’ control, Hansen said.

“What we can’t solve for is people who have lost their jobs, or whose rents have doubled,” Hansen said. 

Adoption was steady through 2018 and 2019, and then in 2020, the pandemic caused less people to surrender their pets. By 2022, adoption slowed, coupled with the reality that thousands of dogs are sent to New York City each year from regions with lower adoption rates, Hansen said. 

But adopting a dog is often not as expensive as people expect, Hansen said. Animal Care Centers has a number of programs to help first-time adopters, like allowing trial foster periods before adoption and an upcoming large dog foster orientation. 

“We have so many great dogs,” Hansen said. “Come to the shelter and meet these dogs.”