Help Needed; Hillsborough Animal Shelter Out Of Room

BRANDON, FL -- Hillsborough County’s pet shelter has too many dogs, and shelter managers are asking Hillsborough County residents to open their hearts – and homes – to help alleviate the overcrowding.

As of Friday morning, the Pet Resource Center at 440 N. Falkenburg Road had 255 dogs and was at 104 percent of the shelter's capacity.

According to shelter workers, this has been the situation for the past several weeks. The Pet Resource Center is the county’s only open admissions shelter, meaning it accepts all dogs and cats regardless of age, weight, breed or health.

That means the shelter currently has a large population of senior dogs and dogs with health issues that require extra attention, which is difficult to provide when there are so many dogs that need care.

All dogs and cats are registered, vaccinated, micro-chipped and spayed before adoption and fees are kept low to insure that cost is no impediment to adopting a pet. All ready-to-go adoptions are $20, unless otherwise noted.

The shelter is encouraging those who have the time and means to take on a dog to view the adoptable pets online or visit the Pet Resource Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Some of the dogs needing homes include:

* Paul, a 1-year-old male Chinese Sharpei

* Joker, a 5-year-old male Jack Russell terrer

* Maybell, a 4-year-old female American Staffordshire terrier

* Titus, a 1-year-old male black-mouthed cur

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)