How shipping containers are being used to prevent dog euthanasia
By Rachael Perry
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PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) — As animal shelters struggle with overcrowding, a local nonprofit is hoping shipping containers might be the temporary solution.
Shelters such as Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control are reporting being overcapacity and struggling to keep up with the number of animals coming into their care.
Unfortunately, the overcrowding has led some shelters to euthanize animals.
The Issue WPBF 25 News Reporter Rachael Perry caught up with Arielle Weinberger with Palm Beach County ACC on Tuesday to better understand the issue.
“We are currently incredibly overcrowded. As of 12:06 today, we have 356 animals on site. Typically, we have capacity for about 250. So, we are basically 100 animals over what our typical capacity is,” Weinberger said.
She said their goal is to be a no-kill shelter. However, lack of space makes that difficult.
“Our numbers are getting better and better when it comes to our live release rate. We are currently at, I believe, 87%, and you reach no-kill at 90%. So, we are slowly getting up to that number, and we’ve been designated nearly no-kill, which we are very happy about. But the more animals we have, the more difficult it is to get closer to that number,” she said.
Weinberger said the most obvious solutions are more space, more fosters, and more adopters.
“We take in animals from cases of abuse and neglect and all of that, and we can’t adopt out those animals if those cases are still open, so we have to hold them sometimes for months at a time. So, we need the space and the shelter for those cases, but they’re currently being taken up by the stray animals we have and owner surrenders and all of that kind of thing,” she added.
A Temporary Solution? After hearing from shelters across South Florida and seeing firsthand the desperate need for space, Rodney Mayo, the director of the nonprofit Hospitality Helping Hands, began brainstorming what could be done.
“It just kind of dawned on me that shipping containers would be the perfect solution, because they are movable, so you can set up a shipping container and relieve some of the overcrowding at one shelter, and then maybe, when they get their fostering program or adoption back on target, then that container can get moved to another shelter that is in dire need of more space,” Mayo said. “It’s an immediate solution to an immediate problem.”
Mayo said Hospitality Helping Hands has worked with shipping containers in the past and converted them into studios or one-bedroom homes for affordable housing.
They quickly got to work converting a 40-foot container into ten kennels.
“They’ll be fully air-conditioned, insulated, a little bit bigger than the normal kennel that you see now, that the dogs are kept in, so we wanted to give them a little more space, and then an outdoor run area for each dog, so they’ll be able to go in and out,” Mayo said.
Mayo said each container should be able to accommodate roughly 30 small dogs or a handful of larger dogs.
“It just seems like all the private shelters and all the public animal rescues are just overcrowded, and unfortunately, some of them have given up their no-kill policy, and some of the county shelters are now euthanizing animals because they just don’t have room, so the shipping containers are something that we can build out in 30 days, and we can bring it, drop it right off at a shelter of need, and immediately solve that problem,” he said.
The hope is that it will give the shelters more time to find the animals a good home and prevent euthanasia.
“It can be a temporary situation. If a rescue just needs extra room for the next two or three months until they stabilize their population, we can drop one off for two or three months, and then it can go on to the next facility,” Mayo explained.
The first container is nearly finished, and Mayo said their plan is to drop it off at a shelter in Clewiston next week.
How the Community Can Help The nonprofit has big goals to finish 10 more containers this summer. However, they can’t do it alone.
“Anyone that’s in the field of electrical, plumbing, insulation, carpentry, welding, anyone that is available to donate air conditioners or doors or windows, that’s also a great help, and also labor. The first container that we did, I’d say about 50% of the labor was donated. So, we are also reaching out to anyone in those specialty fields or anyone who just wants to help put these together,” Mayo said.
He said that while the containers may offer temporary relief, the overall focus should be on fostering or adopting.
“Everybody’s an animal lover. First, if you can, go to any of your shelters, call them up, and adopt and foster. That’s the number one suggestion. Number two, to solve the immediate crisis, help us get 10 of these built so we can relieve some of the pressure on our local Palm Beach County rescues,” he said.
Mayo said businesses can also get involved by sponsoring a container.
“We can put their logo on it, and they can help the community and help the dogs in need, and also advertise their business at the same time,” he said.
For those interested in adopting, Palm Beach ACC is waiving all adoption fees for the month of August.
Weinberger said ACC has adoption counselors and coordinators on site who are able to help match a person with the best pet for them.
“We have animals that are surrendered that have been in homes for 10 years and know how to be a perfect pet, but that person could no longer care for them, so that animal is just waiting here to go be a perfect pet in another home,” she said.
She said people can also help prevent overcrowding by spaying and neutering their pets and not “kit-napping.”
“If you find kittens, the best thing to do is leave them be. Their highest chance of survival is with their mom, and even if you don’t see mom right away, she is likely 20 feet away, hiding. So just keep an eye on the kittens from a distance,” Weinberger said.
Weinberger encourages people to do their research on the breed of an animal and visit the ACC if they’re interested in adopting, fostering, or volunteering.
“This month, we are waiving all of our adoption fees. Dogs, cats, and any kind of animal adoption fees are completely waived. So, if you come by, that includes spay and neuter surgeries, vaccines, tags, everything you need to get started. We want to make sure that these animals get into good homes as quickly as possible,” she said.
Anyone interested in adopting or fostering can visit the Palm Beach County ACC website for a list of their adoptable dogs and cats.
For those who want to help Hospitality Helping Hands, information on their efforts and how to get involved can be found on their website.
Weinberger encourages people to do their research on the breed of an animal and visit the ACC if they’re interested in adopting, fostering, or volunteering.
“This month, we are waiving all of our adoption fees. Dogs, cats, and any kind of animal adoption fees are completely waived. So, if you come by, that includes spay and neuter surgeries, vaccines, tags, everything you need to get started. We want to make sure that these animals get into good homes as quickly as possible,” she said.
Anyone interested in adopting or fostering can visit the Palm Beach County ACC website for a list of their adoptable dogs and cats.
For those who want to help Hospitality Helping Hands, information on their efforts and how to get involved can be found on their website.
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