The panic is evident on Iberia Parish Animal Control’s Facebook page and has been for some time now.

“URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!”

“Our dog kennels are full,” IPAC manager Erica Dwyer Capak wrote. “We are trying not to euthanize adoptable dogs.”

As you scroll through the dozens of animals awaiting adoption, it is clear that IPAC and every shelter in the region is in desperate need of help.

Shelters are full of dogs and cats, with more coming in every day.

That’s why Bissell Pet Foundation decided this year to extend its popular “Empty the Shelters” national summer program.

Beginning Monday through the end of July, shelters in the program are offering reduced adoption fees of $50 or less. At IPAC, $25 will get you an animal.

“Shelters are calling me daily and BISSELL Pet Foundation is feeling the burden of overcrowding,” foundation founder Cathy Bissell said. “With the euthanasia of homeless dogs up 22% in just the first quarter of 2022 alone, we knew we had to act quickly to help at-risk pets. Empty the Shelters is the largest funded adoption event in the country, and by extending the event to three weeks, we can help meet the immediate need to save lives.”

The foundation began the program in 2016 and has helped nearly 100,000 dogs and cats get adopted.

This year, shelters are in crisis, Bissell said, saying adoptable pets are at risk because of “unprecedented overcrowding.”

With a housing and rental crisis, a poor economy and staffing issues at shelters, fewer people are adopting animals and more are giving up pets to shelters.

At IPAC, the shelter has been full for weeks and within the last few days has been over capacity.

“We have NO available kennsl for dogs in our shelter,” Capak wrote. “This is the time to adopt. We don’t want to be forced to euthanize for space.”

IPAC on Seaway Access Road is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is closed on weekends.

Not all shelters participate in the program. In addition to IPAC, other local or regional shelters that are participating include Ouachita Parish Animal Shelter and Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge.

For a complete list, go to:

http://www.bissellpetfoundation.org/empty-the-shelters/

To see an interactive map, go to

http://www.bissellpetfoundation.org/empty-the-shelters/