‘Terrifying’: Shelter might consider putting some of its dogs down due to lack of space
By ‘A’ali’i Dukelow
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MAUI, Hawai’i (KITV) — Maui’s only open-intake shelter might soon have to decide whether to put some of its dogs down because of a lack of space at the facility.
The Maui Humane Society has more than 120 dogs in its care and folks there said they are trying their best to avoid having to euthanize any of them.
“The thought of having to put down a beautiful animal at no fault of its own is just terrifying,” Humane Society volunteer Lisa Callahan said.
Callahan has been fostering dogs for years. Her latest fosters were three week-old puppies that were found at Kihei Boat Ramp.
When asked why she enjoys fostering, Callahan replied, “I want to help save lives and fostering literally helps save lives of animals.”
As of Wednesday, Humane Society personnel reported they are caring for 128 dogs, with 72 of them on site and the rest in foster homes.
“Our dog population right now is just insane,” humane society Chief of Operations Nikki Russell said.
For perspective, there are only 43 kennels at the facility for the more than 70 dogs, and about 15 to 18 of them cannot be kenneled with another dog.
“It means that dogs are barking, they’re fence figthing—it is so stressful for every dog in our care. It’s frightening,” Russell added.
In previous capacity crises, the shelter transferred animals to partner facilities on the west coast.
But those sites cannot take any animals right now because they are focusing on intakes from the California fires.
“They can’t accept animals from us when they’re helping with another disaster like when they helped us,” Russell explained.
Staff at the Humane Society posted a plea for fosters on Instragram, stressing the desperate need to free up space at the facility.
Fostering is free and the organization can help pay for any associated costs.
The shelter plans to stay open late on Thursday and Friday until 6 p.m. to allow more time for adoptions and fosters.
Facility leaders are also calling on landlords to allow renters to keep their pets so they do not have to be surrendered to them.
“I don’t want to put a timeline on any animal, I understand why you’re asking what time. I want to believe that our community’s going to step up, I want to believe that we’re not going to have to make that decision. But the bottom line is, if animals keep coming in five at a time, we are going to be pushed to make that decision,” Russell added.
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