CINCINNATI — As college students head home for the summer, local animal shelters are taking a hit as those students often serve as foster homes for pets.

One shelter said they have the most dogs they’ve ever had and are even resorting to putting dogs in crates.

What You Need To Know

  • Cincinnati Animal CARE has taken in more than 600 animals in May

  • Almost 200 dogs are in the shelter with another nearly 200 in foster homes

  • The shelter has had to resort to crating dogs because there are so many

  • Part of the problem is with college students moving home since so many foster animals while in school

It’s a happy day for Barack as he finds his forever home. Sylvia Griffith saw his face and knew he was the one.

“Something in my heart is like, 'you’re my little big-headed dog. You have to come with me. You have to!'" Griffith said.

Griffith is going through sobriety recovery and knew having a dog at home would be a good step in her journey.

“It’s been something that I want to do," she said. "A lot of the pillars of the foundation is giving back and helping others, and I don’t think there’s a better way to do that now than get a dog out of a shelter.”

Barack’s wagging tail said it all—it’s not the case for most dogs here.

It’s not uncommon to see dogs that have been in the shelter for long periods of time. But with the influx of dogs, it’s even harder to find homes for them.

Ray Anderson, the community engagement manager at Cincinnati Animal CARE, said part of the issue right now is college students moving back home because a lot of students are regular fosters.

“We’ve lost probably about 40 regular fosters in just the last couple of weeks," Anderson said. "That is 40 kennels here at the shelter. That’s kind of detrimental.”

The shelter is Hamilton County’s only open-intake, no-kill shelter and is the county’s sole provider of animal control services. Just this month, the shelter has taken in 600 animals. As of now, nearly 200 dogs are in the shelter with about the same amount in foster homes, which has resorted to putting dogs in kennels—something the shelter never wants to do. Anderson said it’s the worst he’s ever seen.

“That is unacceptable for us," Anderson said. "But right now, we’re teetering close on having to double up kennels, putting multiple dogs in a kennel, and we do not want to do that.”

While dogs are being adopted each day, the shelter and other adopters are pleading to the community for help.

“There’s nothing more rewarding," Griffith said. "There really isn’t, and it feels so good, and you know you’re doing the right thing.”

For more information on adopting or fostering, visit Cincinnati Animal CARE's website or your local shelter's website.