With an upcoming adoption event at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m.-3 p.m on June 3, the shelter aims to find homes for a significant number of dogs and to create more space for their already crowded kennels.
After the shelter reached critical max capacity earlier this May, city officials are now relieved to report the shelter is no longer at that level of urgency, Sugar Land Communications Director Doug Adolph said.
"We're not at the critical status we were a month ago, and we hope to get a lot of dogs out this weekend with our adoption event at the fairgrounds, freeing up some inside kennels to get some of the dogs out of the heat," Adolph said in an email.
With 58 dogs housed at the shelter as of May 3, the need for increased adoption activity is still pressing, Adolph said.
A pilot program for extended adoption hours at the shelter was also implemented May 23 to gauge whether increased operating times can boost adoption activity. The shelter will offer extended hours to the public on June 8. During this pilot program trial period the shelter will be open for adoptions from 10 a.m.-noon and 1-6 p.m.
"We will review activity after next week to see if extended hours increased adoption activity," Adolph said via email.
The extended hours initiative aims to accommodate individuals with busy schedules who may otherwise be unable to visit the shelter, according to the initial news release. By offering greater flexibility, shelter officials hope to provide more opportunities for potential adopters to connect with their four-legged companions.
All of these efforts come after a policy change in March regarding euthanasia and sterilization. The new policy aimed to prevent the killing of animals when the shelter is full or if they have been there for an extended period of time, as previously reported by Community Impact.
This policy change was prompted by an investigation held last year in September, which uncovered 40 unauthorized euthanizations over six months, resulting in the firing of six Sugar Land Animal Services employees, including the shelter manager.
