Half

On Monday, 100 dogs and cats were dropped off at the Abilene Animal Shelter.

To Aaron Vannoy, city Animals Services manager, that's the norm for summertime intake numbers. He said 65 percent of those animals came from outside the Abilene city limits, from Taylor and Jones counties, Clyde, Sweetwater and other places.

'We're taking care of other people's animals,' Vannoy said Tuesday. 'This is the summertime. We'll bring in 80 to 100 animals everyday because people just don't want their animals.'

'We have 100 healthy kennels for dogs and cats. We do put full litters together, so our daily count hovers around 120.'

The large one-day intake prompted Rescue the Animals, SPCA to call an emergency half-off July sale for dogs and cats at the shelter at 925 S. 25th St. Dogs and cats will be $40 and $30, respectively, after a $20 mail-in rebate.

Paul Washburn, the organization's president, said nearly 400 dogs and cats arrived in the past week at the shelter. As the shelter fills up, the chances of animals being euthanized increases from the lack of adoption, Washburn said.

So far this year, 2,360 healthy animals have been euthanized at the shelter because they were not adopted compared to 3,066 in 2012, Vannoy said.

'When you bring in that many animals each day, that shortens the length of stay for an animal here,' Vannoy said. 'Normally, we're between 10 and 12 days for length of stay. (That) shrinks to three to five days.'

Washburn gave two theories on why the shelter has a higher intake rate in the summer. He said either people go on vacation and have no place to leave their pets, or the breeding cycle was late this year because of the cooler spring temperatures.

'There's a shortage of boarding places here in Abilene. So every holiday, if you wait until the last minute, you can't find a place to board your animal,' Washburn said. 'Some people move, and where they move, they can't have an animal. Whenever people have lifestyle changes, one of the things they do is get rid of animals.'

Vannoy said most people who bring their animal to the shelter do so because 'they say they can't afford it.'

'It's not just a one-time animal that you buy. It's a constant upkeep,' Vannoy said.

Depending on the size of an animal, the monthly cost of owning a pet can range from $50 to $200, Vannoy said. He provided three important things for potential animal owners to consider before buying a pet:

Does it fit into your lifestyle?

Can you actually afford the animal throughout its lifetime (a 12- to 15-year commitment)

Can you afford to have it spayed or neutered, or keep the puppies/kittens if your pet reproduces?

The Abilene shelter has such a high intake rate, with an average 1,200 to 1,500 animals brought in annually, because it's the only city among 10 similar cities which has 'open intake.' Vannoy said other cities only have certain days when animals can be dropped off at the shelter.

'We have to make the owners of those animals more responsible, whether that's through enforcement or as a city having a higher standard of what it takes to own an animal,' Vannoy said.

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