LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock Animal Services is seeing a rise in the number of pet owners requesting to surrender their animals, with surrender requests increasing sharply over the past month.<\/p>\n
The shelter recorded 45 pet surrenders in June. So far in July, that number has reached 119 \u2014 74 more than the previous month.<\/p>\n
Taylor Ruggles, assistant director of Lubbock Animal Services, said the reasons for surrenders vary, including finances, old age, relocation and deaths in the family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you speak with these people having to own or surrender their animals, they\u2019re usually very emotional and having to give them up because this is a part of their family,\u201d Ruggles said.<\/p>\n
Ruggles said the shelter wants to be a last resort for animals coming from homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be the last resort for animals coming in from homes because your animal is used to you, your animal\u2019s used to a nice quiet home,\u201d Ruggles said.<\/p>\n
Before surrendering, the shelter encourages owners to explore rehoming options, including local Facebook groups such as \u201cLubbock Rehome Your Pets Here\u201d and \u201cLubbock Animal Adoption,\u201d as well as apps like Nextdoor and PawBoost.<\/p>\n
The shelter also said it can provide food to owners who cannot afford to feed their pets.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying, I have to own or surrender my dog because I can\u2019t afford to feed it, we\u2019ll say like, come up and we\u2019ll provide you with whatever food we do have available,\u201d Ruggles said.<\/p>\n
Lubbock Animal Shelter requires an appointment for owner surrenders to ensure space is available. There is a $50 fee. Staff said the larger concern, however, is the stress placed on the animal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that the shelter is a very stressful place for a lot of animals,\u201d Ruggles said. \u201cYou\u2019re exposing it to diseases and potential infections that we don\u2019t even know about because we\u2019re handling animals that we don\u2019t have any background or medical history for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Animal Shelter Officer Josiah Rodriguez said staff works to manage the volume of animals coming in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to do the best we can, but the reality is we have a lot of animals,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
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