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CEDAR CITY — An influx of calls, messages and visits from people looking to surrender their pets has put Cedar City animal shelters under pressure.
Tom Byrd, a county detective who works with the Iron County Sheriff Department Animal Shelter, said the shelter's seen an increase of owner surrenders the last few months, receiving as many as 30 calls from mid-January through February. He noted that the number of strays they've picked up is on par with the number of voluntarily surrendered pets.
Brittany McCabe, the shelter manager at Cedar City Animal Adoption Center, said they are experiencing a similar influx of surrendered pets.
"At least half of our adoptable kennels are from owner surrenders, and we have several cats that are, too," she said.
What is driving the influx of surrendered pets?
Neither McCabe nor Byrd could confirm a reason for the increasing numbers of abandoned pets and owner surrenders.
"If you asked my opinion on what's causing it, I think it's just the housing crisis," Byrd said. "The majority of people can't afford to own their own homes anymore, so they're forced to rent and a lot of rentals don't allow animals."
He noted that the shelter also saw an influx of stray and surrendered animals during the 2008 recession.
