Louisville animal shelter loses no-kill status from overcrowding

Louisville’s animal shelter has lost its no-kill status due to overcrowding, prompting the first euthanizations in more than five years.

Staffers recently euthanized two dogs “because we are out of room, time and space” at the shelter, Louisville Metro Animal Services spokeswoman Teeya Barnes said. They were the first at the shelter since 2017, The Courier Journal reported.

The shelter has waived fees for dogs over 40 pounds.

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“We need people to foster large dogs, they’re the ones that are at risk,” Barnes said. “We’re asking people that can foster to please contact us.”

The facility was at or over maximum capacity for most of 2022, Barnes said. More than 7,000 animals entered the shelter in 2021, and officials took in nearly 6,300 cats and dogs in the first 10 months of 2022, according to a city report.

Barnes urged pet lovers to visit the shelter and adopt or foster a shelter pet.