Summer is dog days for shelter animals

Every summer, ACCT Philly has to fight tooth and nail to save animals in its care, and this one is no different.

The summer of 2015 has brought an average of 26 dogs into the shelter each day, more than during the other seasons, Ed Fritz, ACCT Philly's director of operations, said Monday. With an average daily adoption rate of just eight dogs, the kennel is constantly approaching its capacity of 160.

More people surrender or abandon their pets in the summer than in cooler months, said Ame Dorminy of ACCT Philly's adoption team. There is no one clear reason this is so, she said, but she speculated that spring birthrates may overwhelm pet owners.

It's the same for cats. "It's kitten season," Dorminy said.

The nonprofit has come up with a several strategies to spur the adoption rate, including waiving fees and offering deals.

ACCT, which stands for Animal Care and Control Team, manages the city's shelter at 111 W. Hunting Park Ave. in Feltonville under contract, handling nearly 28,000 animals a year, including reptiles, birds, and wildlife.

Among them are puppies like Church, a petit pit bull/terrier mix, who presses up against his cage when people walk into the kennel. When people approach him, they are greeted by a full-body wiggle of joy and excitement. He arrived Saturday and became eligible for adoption Monday.

Others have been there much longer.

Spunky Brewster, a doe-eyed pit-bull mix with a dappled, honey-colored coat, arrived June 14. Her easygoing attitude and lovable face are usually a winning combination, but she hasn't been lucky.

"It's really hard to know why people pick certain dogs," Dorminy said. "Sometimes cute dogs like this sit in a kennel for a month and we don't know why."

Spunky had no takers last week when the shelter held free adoption days Thursday and Friday. Over the two days, the shelter waived adoption fees, which range from zero for cats over 5 or who are sick to $250 for purebred dogs or unusual breeds - and 37 dogs got new homes.

Although that's more than twice the number adopted in a typical two-day summer span, Fritz said, it's not much of a reprieve.

"It helped us get through the weekend," Fritz said. "You get a few days out of it. But we don't ever sit on our haunches in the lifesaving department."

And all the time, dogs keep coming in.

C-Lo, a mellow, midnight-black pit mix, arrived Friday. More deals and promotions this summer may be his ticket to a loving family, like Clear the Shelters Day on Aug. 15, when adoption fees will again be waived.

Adoption fees typically cover processing and the animal's medical expenses. To cover other costs, ACCT Philly holds fund-raisers, such as the Duck Dash, in the pool at Vogt Recreation Center on Aug. 22. Simply put, $5 buys a rubber duck that then competes for money and prizes.

Shelter operators are convinced that adoption-fee waivers, contests, and other special events will bring more people into the shelters. And that's the most critical step.

"Once they're in here, it's like, 'Look at all we have,' " Fritz said.

215-854-2715@erinJustineET