An increase in surrendered or abandoned pets facing significant medical or behavior issues and staying longer at the shelter is stretching the Routt County Humane Society to capacity.

At the same time, shelter pet adoption rates have slowed nationwide, and that reverberates to smaller community shelters, said Elaine Hicks, Routt County Humane Society executive director.

“For this community, not having people reclaim their pets is an anomaly, and the ones that haven’t been reclaimed either have significant medical or behavioral issues, leading me to believe they were dumped,” Hicks said. “Shelters are full all over, and we’ve been receiving several calls a week from surrounding communities looking to place their animals.”

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Hicks recounted two cases of abandoned dogs including a litter of five Pyrenees puppies that were found on a Routt County roadside last week. Two of those very young puppies did not survive, but the other three should be available for adoption this fall.

In February, a 6-year-old female German shepherd was found abandoned at City Market in Steamboat Springs, and the shelter had to pay for two surgeries for the dog that is now recovering with a foster home volunteer.

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Hicks said the number of pets from people in jail or pets on a bite hold this year compared to last year has almost doubled in numbers and length of stays, which also impacts the shelter budget. If a bite is significant or the pet is not current with rabies vaccination, an animal control officer directs quarantine at the shelter.

To help keep pets up-to-date on vaccinations, the humane society will host a free vet-care vaccination clinic Oct. 12. The clinic is first-come, first-served from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Cook Subaru in Steamboat.

Due to the capacity issues, the shelter currently has a waitlist of six animals from families wanting to surrender a pet. Hicks said one of the top reasons for surrenders relates to landlord restrictions, when the pet was never allowed in the first place or the pet has shown behavior issues.

“It’s more about the current economic situation and landlords not allowing pets,” Hicks said. “The majority of the dogs that have been surrendered have significant behavioral problems. They have not been trained. They were not socialized properly, or they are not housebroken are some of the common reasons.”

Through the end of July this year, the shelter took in 232 pets with the highest percentages in the categories of custody seizures, transfers in, strays and owner surrenders.

To help prevent surrender of pets due to behavior issues, the humane society continues to offer free pet behavioral assistance sessions from a professional trainer. Pet owners can sign up for assistance by calling the shelter or going online at RouttHumane.org/pet-behavior-assistance.

Community members can help pet owners in financial need by donating non-expired pet food to the shelter’s food pantry.

With decreased adoptions throughout the shelter world and increases in surrendered and abandoned pets, pets are staying longer at the shelter in Steamboat. Even some puppies have waited for adoptions for months, said Julia Hebard, the society’s director of marketing and events.

“We’ve had dogs there for months on end, and typically that has been the case since late 2023,” Hebard said.

“More animals are being brought in with an unusual number not being reclaimed, which hasn’t been my experience in the last three-and-a-half years,” said Hicks, noting the shelter adoption rate has dropped by 30% since July 2023. “It appears animals are being dumped because other shelters are full or the animal has a medical or behavior problem.”

Two longtime residents at the shelter in need of adoption include Nala and Gomez. Nala is a 1-year-old, 74-pound female Kuvasz, a working dog breed. Gomez is a 2-year-old male, 17-pound rat terrier.