COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Columbus Animal Care and Control Center is currently dealing with the highest number of animal intakes since 2014, according to ACC Statistic Reports. 

Since the beginning of the year, 1870 dogs and 1198 cats have been processed for intake. Most of these are strays, surrendered animals, or animals who have been illegally dumped. This has caused the wait list for surrenders to be booked out up until mid-Nov. 

Canita Hardnett-Johnson, the Deviation Manager for Columbus Animal Care and Control Center spoke, with WRBL about why she believes the socioeconomic status of our city may be affecting the increasing number of intakes. 

“I think people are just having a hard time feeding families…” said Hardnett-Johnson. “And so, when they having to make hard decisions and fortunately their pets are the first ones that they let go.”

She went on to give examples of how inflation impacted the center.

“So we’ve experienced that what used to be $19 for a 50 pound bag of dog food is now $28, which is a drastic and a tremendous uptake in how much you pay for dog food. So if that’s any indication as to what our citizens are experiencing with purchasing their dog’s food, that speaks volumes about that nationwide. One of the reasons people are having to make the decision of letting their pet go is because they can’t afford to feed them.”

If you would like to adopt, Columbus Animal Control is open for regular business hours throughout the week as well as extended hours on Wednesday. More information is available on the Columbus Animal Care and Control website.