LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Millions of animals enter shelters in the country every year.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an estimated 6 million pets enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year.
Many shelters foster pets to help relieve stress on the facility.
A Louisville nonprofit in need of more fosters. The Arrow Fund takes in animal victims of extreme torture, abuse or neglect.
“The owner just didn’t want to pay for the vet bills to get him healthy, and we couldn’t let the puppy go. His eye was hanging out of his socket, so he’s had a surgery when he was like a week and a half old,” said Thom Ham, executive director for the Arrow Fund.
The more fosters the nonprofit has, the more pets it says it can help.
“You get to take them in for a while, you get to play with them, you get to enjoy them, and there’s no cost to you. Like, we take care of all the food, the bedding, the toys, we’ll even give you gas cards if there’s still some vet visits to get to,” he said.
But like many groups that foster pets, the Arrow Fund needs more fosters. Right now, it only has four fosters and about five people who applied to foster adopt.
“Everybody is full, you know, everyone has their own animals. Some people don’t like to bring another animal into their house because they have animals that are not other animal friendly,” said Ham.
He said the Arrow Fund is taking as many fosters as it can to provide for pets in need.
“It’s really upsetting when we have to say no. Nobody wants to say no, and when we’re saying no because we don’t have a foster home for it to go to, that breaks our heart even more,” Ham said.
Applications to foster, foster adopt, or volunteer can be found on the Arrow Fund’s website.
The Louisville Metro Animal Shelter is also facing challenges.
It has been over capacity for months.
Last week, the shelter announced it is partnering with Feeders Pet Supply to create satellite adoption centers in stores.
It’s part of LMAS’ effort to increase pet adoption rates.