{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Economic woes hit shelter animals hard","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":390,"description":"Economic woes are hitting shelter animals hard, as would-be adopters struggle with rising costs, housing insecurity, and the difficulty of finding affordable veterinary care. The result is that animal shelters across the country are at capacity. Some shelters have even re-instituted the practice of euthanizing for lack of space.\r\n\r\nMendocino County Animal Shelter is not destroying animals to make room at this time, but dog lovers had a scare late last month when eight large-breed dogs were placed on a euthanasia list. The list was quickly mothballed, but the shelter is still pleading with people to foster and adopt animals.\r\n\r\nBecca Edwards is the dog kennel manager for the Humane Society of Inland Mendocino County in Redwood Valley. On a Friday afternoon, most of the eighty or so dogs under her care were in foster homes, ready to come pouring back in for their chance at adoption over the weekend. Edwards says permanent homes are in short supply. \r\n\r\n“It’s not so much that we’re seeing more animals coming in,” she said. “The numbers are pretty consistent. It’s that we’re not having the same outcomes. Since the pandemic, people are also struggling, so keeping animals, or getting animals, is probably not top of their priority list at the moment. So we’re seeing less outcomes, more intakes. During the pandemic… any adoptable animal here was gone within days, especially puppies, small dogs, they were just flying out the doors. What we’re seeing now is not so much the returns, but the halting of that process, because people are just not feeling secure in bringing on a new family member. Or they don’t have the financial resources or housing. Our returns have stayed pretty consistent. We usually get a couple a month coming back to us. I think animals are just not having the easy way out that they used to.”\r\n\r\nJane Baldwin is the assistant manager at the Milo Foundation Sanctuary outside of Willits, on a sprawling 285-acre property with a variety of animals. The...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}