A multitude of factors are straining humane societies in the Black Hills.
Some of the causes are issues that helped define 2022—the pandemic, housing and inflation.
Two-month-old Australian shepherds Dylan and Bindi sit behind a crate in the Humane Society of the Black Hills. The puppy pair is part of an increasing number of dogs at the Rapid City shelter.
“This is something that we’ve been watching happen for quite some time," said Jerry Steinley, the HSBH executive director. “We’re doing a lot of adoptions. We’re still getting a lot of animals moved out and into different programs, but we’re starting to see the numbers aren’t dropping as quickly. We’re filling up and we’re staying full.”
Steinley attributes the increase to three different factors. The first is a lack of spay-neuter services caused in part by the pandemic.
“We’re starting to see some of the ripple effects of that. We’re having a lot of unfixed animals that are having litters now.
"I think the economy is part of it—that’s driving more numbers here. It’s expensive," Steinley says. "And I think there are not as many pet friendly housing options. All those things combined are just kind of leading to this where we’re starting to see the shelters more full.”
Steinley is encouraging people to spay and neuter their pets, as well as microchip them. He’s also asking landlords to offer pet friendly options for renters.
Dana Konzem is a spokesperson for the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society says they are on the higher end of their capacity as well, but with cats.
“The biggest reason we feel that animals are here is because of spay and neuter," Konzem said. "We are a very agricultural community, so there are a lot of working cats and farm cats. Cat breed very quickly.”
Konzem said the shelter has had an average of 300 cats in it’s shelter at any given time. That’s half of their capacity.
