The Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) is asking for help as it deals with a sudden boom in the number of puppies it is caring for. The 98-year-old nonprofit said in a news release on Thursday that it currently has “130+ more puppies than we did at this time last year.”
“The surge is coming at a time when our kennels are already full of dogs,” the ARL said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ARL is the largest nonprofit animal shelter in the state. It has provided all of the City of Des Moines’ shelter services since 2005, and does the same for some of the other smaller cities in Polk County.
In a normal year, it cares for about 11,500 animals — not just the dogs, cats, birds and rabbits, but also horses, chickens, sheep, miniature donkeys, even the occasional pot-bellied pig or Hereford steer. But the current surge in puppies is severely straining its resources.
“Puppies often need specialized care and extra time in the shelter,” ARL said in its statement. “Many puppies are very young and fragile when they arrive, and some need extra medical or behavioral help before they are ready to be spayed/neutered and placed with families. The ARL is calling for adopters to help make room for the influx and foster homes for the dozens of puppies that keep coming in.”
Information about adopting puppies, as well as other animals, is available on the ARL’s site. Anyone interested in fostering a puppy or two, or volunteering in another way, can also find information on the site. Those who want to help from home can donate through the site.
“We can’t do this alone and we desperately need the community’s help,” ARL Tom Colvin, ARL’s CEO, said. “We are doing everything we can to keep up with the number of animals entering our care and are getting them into homes as fast as we can, but we really need the public’s help, whether it’s through adoption, fostering, or donating.”
