Jefferson City Animal Shelter open by appointment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Jefferson City Animal Shelter is now open-by-appointment for the foreseeable future.
The change is due to scheduling and staffing issues, a shelter representative said Tuesday. The shelter has recently experienced problems with overcrowding that also forced it to stop taking dogs for about a week.
The shelter takes in strays and unwanted animals from Cole County residents.
Animal Control that works through the Jefferson City Police Department is tasked with picking up animals within city limits.
Animals that are brought to the shelter as strays are held for five business days before becoming city property, and examined by a shelter veterinarian.
If an animal is microchipped or has an identification tag with the owners' identity, the holding period goes up to 10 days.
The shelter remains closed on weekends.
During the meeting, concerns from citizens were mentioned including the shelter being closed on weekends.
A board member said that after running adoption numbers, a realization was made that many people come into the shelter to play with animals during the weekend, but don't actually get adopted.
Infectious diseases pose a risk to the animals in shelters with so many people coming in and out to play with them.
The number of animals coming into the Jefferson City Animal Shelter varies daily, Lieutenant Williams, the Jefferson City Police Public Information Officer said in a statement.
In 2022, the total intake of animals was 1,974. So far in 2023, there have been 533 animals brought in.
The shelter has 21 double-sided cat kennels in adoption and 47 double-sided cat kennels in the intake-and-quarantine area.
There are 44 dog kennels in the adoption, intake and quarantine areas which can be purposed as needed.
Right now, there are 29 dogs and 20 cats in the shelter.
The shelter also started a dog foster program to help alleviate that overcrowding.
The Jefferson City Animal Shelter deals with staffing and overcrowding issues occasionally, such as November 2021 when staffing shortages led to a closure.
Normal hours of operation are noon to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
If interested in working for the shelter, you must apply through the Jefferson City Police Department where you will go through the hiring process.
