Gordita is a 3-year-old pitbull-boxer mix with a love for food, belly rubs and being the center of attention.
She is also one of over 20 dogs under the care of Pullman’s Whitman County Humane Society, which is at capacity with animals. The no-kill animal shelter’s longest resident, Gordita has waited to be adopted for almost 300 days since the shelter took her in in December 2023.
Since the pandemic, WCHS has taken in more animals than it has the capacity for, said Lori Jordan, board of directors vice president. For dogs, that capacity is limited to eight.
In comparison, WCHS has about 80 cats under its care and the capacity for 65 of them.
“We can handle the cat situation much easier than we can the dog situation,” Jordan said.
WCHS is not the only shelter at capacity with animals. According to the Best Friends Animal Society, intakes and lengths of stay are rising at shelters across the country, but adoptions and transfers to other shelters are not. Especially for dogs.
“Everyone’s kind of in the same boat,” Jordan said. “The main side of the Palouse runs similar to us. They have about the same amount of animals as us and I think they’re hitting the same walls we are with just finding adopters, and space, and an increase in animals in general.”
Jordan attributes this to increases in costs of living, housing and animal care. Now, she said owners may be unable to afford to feed their pets, take them to the veterinarian or live in pet-friendly housing.
Michelle Dosson, Best Friends Pacific regional director, agrees. Because they can be larger and more costly, dogs have fewer options for housing and animal care than cats and other smaller animals, Dosson said. So, dogs are even harder to find owners for.
“Cats are still at risk for losing their lives in shelters, but really medium-to-large dogs right now are the most at risk,” Dosson said.
To mitigate this risk, Jordan said WCHS is expanding its foster programs, hiring more volunteers and increasing its social media presence.
In August, WCHS held a social media campaign on Facebook focusing on Gordita. Jordan said interacting, sharing and posting on social media is one way to help animals like her.
“If we can get a dog like Gordita to go viral and get adopted, that’s what we want,” Jordan said.
WCHS is open from 1–5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from noon–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
For more information on fostering with, volunteering for, adopting with and donating to WCHS, visit its website.
