A tale of two misplaced pups in Northampton County is looking to have a happy ending. Police say the strays are set to be adopted on Thursday afternoon. But it highlights a larger problem of overrun shelters in the area.
Two male pit mixes have landed behind bars. Colonial Regional Police took the dogs into custody, after passersby found them roaming off Route 33 a little more than a week ago.
"Several times a year we get strays that we have to take in," Lt. Darrin Wendling, with the Colonial Regional Police Department, said.
Pennsylvania law requires police to take them in, Wendling says, but only for 48 hours. Still, the officers don't like to give up on these animals so easily. Wendling says the shelters have been great to work with, but the past couple years, it's been harder to find room in them.
"Unfortunately, the shelters and rescues are all full," Wendling said. "And we've tried in Northampton, Monroe, Lehigh, multiple counties around us."
The shelters that 69 News reached out to say they are constantly full.
Lehigh Valley Humane Society says it's been at or over capacity for the last seven months.
"All shelters right now are bursting at the seams," Janet Dorwart, with Peaceable Kingdom in Whitehall, said.
Dorwart serves as the shelter's dog program liaison. She explains why the problem is getting worse in recent years.
"There are a lot of posts on Facebook about, 'found this dog,' 'found this cat,' 'is this your dog,' 'is this your cat,'" she said. "And unfortunately, most of those are abandoned pets."
Dorwart says even when the shelter is full, sometimes the workers have no choice but to squeeze another animal into their care.
"We said 'well, we're full, we're really sorry,'" she said. "And they said, 'well, we'll just take her down and tire to a pole in the park.'"
Lieut. Wendling says he believes the two dogs at the police station have also been abandoned.
"The last chip addressed to the owner was in New York City," Wendling said. "We can no longer locate any type of owner, or anybody that has any information on the dog."
Police say this time, a couple is stepping in to adopt the pups. A happy ending? Hopefully.
"We don't have the personnel to go out and actually vet residents," Wendling said.
Since police are not actual animal shelters, they're not equipped to do what shelters do, to ensure all animals make it into safe, loving homes. Still, they do what they can.
"So, just by talking to people," he said. "They know what they're really getting into, making sure they're prepared for it and making sure that they're actually taking the dog for the right reasons."
Meanwhile, Dorwart wants to remind all prospective pet owners, if you can:
"Adopt don't shop."
