The job of an animal shelter is never really done. While these volunteers work hard to get all of their pets adopted or back to their homes, there are also new animals arriving all the time.
So the rare instance when a shelter is truly empty is a moment worth celebrating—a sign that the shelter is excelling at its job, with far more animals leaving the shelter than coming in.
That’s what one shelter is celebrating this week: the Baldwin County Animal Shelter, in Summerdale, Alabama, has cleared over 70 animals resulting in a completely empty shelter.
The director of the shelter announced the news on Facebook, along with the staff posing in front of the now-empty kennels.
“I am beyond proud of how everything was handled,” the director wrote, praising the work of the “amazing rescues, staff and volunteers.”
The post also thanks several groups that contributed to their goal: Southern Paws Inc, the Animal Disaster Relief Coalition, the Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue and the Rescue Alliance.
“They were able to get 1500 lbs. of dog food donated by Hill’s Science Diet, helping around the shelter, networking, finding legit rescues with proven positive backgrounds, taking pictures, videos, assessments, and lining up wonderful transport groups,” the post explains.
Completely clearing a shelter is great for many reasons. With no animals inside, it’s a chance for shelters to clean the kennels or do maintenance.
Having fewer animals means that more pets can get the individual care and attention they need. Many shelters experience overcrowding, which can lead to poor conditions and in extreme situations the euthanasia of healthy animals.
And clearing Baldwin County Animal Shelter means their workers can get a little bit of a breather… at least until the next batch of dogs arrives.
“The shelter now has room to start following up on complaints and bringing in the next group of dogs so they can find their owners or next homes,” the shelter wrote.
Congrats to this shelter for completely clearing out their animals! Thank you to everyone who helped achieve this incredible goal.
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