No one likes to see a stray dog, or cat, roaming around loose and without a home.
But it happens every day and leads to constant overcrowding in animal shelters all over the state. One local shelter has begun waiving adoption fees to help reduce overcrowding.
Sherwood Animal Shelter will help you choose a fur baby until 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. They're full, like many other shelters in Pulaski County. But there’s an event later this month they hope will help keep strays off the streets.
“If you don't know where those babies are going, don't let them have any to begin with,” said Robin Brauex with the Sherwood Animal Shelter.
Dogs have puppies. And then those dogs have puppies. Same thing goes for cats and kittens. It's a never-ending cycle.
“We're constantly trying to get them adopted faster than they're coming in the front door,” she said.
The shelter can never predict when they will or won't have a full house.
"Monday, we got in seven dogs within a couple of hours, people found them. They were just all over different areas of Sherwood,” Brauex said.
But they aren’t alone, homeless animals are an issue many cities deal with.
“There's a really huge over population of pets. And they're normally companion animals, people just don't know what to do with them,” she added.
Who's contributing to the issue?
"Pulaski County just put in the $5 voluntary tax when you pay your property taxes to help with the service and to help people that are struggling with money to take care of their families,” Brauex said.
Last year the Pulaski County Quorum Court voted to create the Voluntary Animal Control Spay and Neuter Tax. It raised nearly $45,000 and hopes to put a stop to overpopulation of pets. Could stricter spay and neuter laws help lessen the problem?
“They would have to implement something like that at the state level before the cities could make an ordinance or something where pets in a city would have to be spayed or neutered,” Brauex said.
Both Jacksonville and North Little Rock animal shelters are also full.
A portion of funds from the spay and neuter tax will go towards the counties first spay and neuter event, The Pulaski County Big Fix, on Nov. 30. All spots have been filled, but you can contact Arkansans for Animals at 501-455-5400 for more information on the next event or services.