Columbia Animal Control, CMHS reach capacity for strays; pauses most dog intakes

COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)

Columbia Animal Control is temporarily pausing most stray dog pickups after it and the Central Missouri Humane Society reached capacity, prompting officials to reserve kennel space for emergencies.

Animal Control says its contract with the Humane Society provides 25 primary cages. Those kennels have filled with stray dog pickups, animals being held for court proceedings and legally required quarantines.

“We made the decision to go ahead and pause stray dog pickup so that we could hold those five cages for emergency situations,” Animal Control supervisor Kevin Meyers said.

While the temporary pause is in place, officials say aggressive dogs and other public safety concerns will continue to receive priority.

People who find friendly stray dogs are encouraged to first try reuniting them with their owners by filing a lost pet report with Animal Control and posting in the Columbia, Missouri Lost and Found Pets Facebook group.

CMHS says it’s also running out of space because of an increase in dogs entering the shelter, along with animals connected to cruelty investigations, neglect cases and legally required quarantines.

“So there’s just a great need in the community for our services,” CMHS Executive Director Michelle Casey said. “We are about at capacity. We are running out of kennel space.”

The shelter is asking community members to help by fostering or adopting pets. Casey said even short-term fostering can make a significant difference.

“Even just getting a pet out of here for a weekend or a few days makes such a big difference for us because it opens up space in the shelter, but also allows us to learn a lot more about that animal when they’re in a home setting,” Casey said.

Animal Control says it expects the pause to be temporary and hopes normal stray dog intake can resume as more animals are adopted or placed in foster homes.