COLORADO SPRINGS — More stray animals are being brought to The Humane Society Of The Pikes Peak Region. The shelter saw a big influx of animals last week.
In the last week of June, over 200 stray pets were brought to the humane society. Many of those animals have been reunited with their owners but more than a hundred pets are still looking to be reunited with their owners, or adopted. The Humane Society says they typically see more pets in the summertime.
“So recently just in the summertime, you know we've seen an increase in pets just because the weather is starting to get warmer outside. You know more people are outside, so we've gotten a lot more pets coming in as as as strays this time of year and with the 4th of July coming up, that is something that is on the top of our minds and taking care of these animals that do come into us,” said Costra .
But the Public Relations Manager for the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, Cody Costra also said receiving 200 pets in one week is not normal.
"We typically don't see over 200 pets come in in a single week. So with, you know the weather, get the weather getting warm. And just everybody being outside and just everything's happening right now and you know with post COVID, people are excited to be outside. That is something that is a little unique for us," Costra said.
The Humane Society says they are expecting even more stray pets because of the Fourth of July. Costra said many pets are scared of the fireworks and so they run away.
“We're anticipating even more stray pets to come in our doors with the 4th of July. A lot of dogs and even cats will get scared of the fireworks and take off. So we just can't stress enough to, you know, please come out and adopt pets if you can, and if it's not the right time to adopt a pet to your family to please donate. You know that that money goes directly towards helping take care of these pets and feeding them and taking care of them on a daily basis,” said Costra.
Most of the time the stray pets that are brought into the shelter are dogs or cats. But Costra said they take care of all small animals.
“We're mostly seeing dogs come in our doors and cats as well. We do take care of small animals as well, so if you do have any of our small critters like the Guinea pigs, fish, birds, bunnies, anything like that, we do take care of them as well. And if you can no longer take care of your small animal, please bring them to us and we'll take care of them,” said Costra.
Costra said the biggest thing people can do to better protect their pets is a microchip with updated information.
“When you do lose your pet, that is the fastest way that we are going to be able to identify them and return them to you as quickly as possible,” said Costra.
People can update their microchip information on the Humane Society’s website.
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