The area’s three animal shelters share a common problem: too many animals.

“We are faced with overcrowding every day, and not enough money to house them (the animals) and pay for shelter operating costs and a vet to look after them,” said Jaclyn Cosper, president of the Animal Rescue Foundation Board, which oversees the Sylacauga Animal Shelter.

Cosper said the shelter, which can house approximately 175 dogs and 100-150 cats, is “maxed out.”

“There is nothing we aren’t looking into at the moment, such as funding, to move forward,” she said.

Cosper said the ARF has not had a spay/neuter program in the past, but is looking into implementing one.

“We have stopped the drop-off kennels, but people are still dropping off animals,” she said. “There are no kennels so the people just let them run loose.”

Cosper said the shelter removed the after-hours drop-off kennels due to overcrowding. The shelter has security measures in place to try to identify those individuals, because it is against the law to abandon the animals.

“Adoptions are on the rise, due to publicity,” she said. “People are recognizing the shelter is a good place.”

Cosper said shelter animals are just as good as purebreds.

“A shelter dog gives you just as much love and commitment,” she said.

Cosper said the shelter has also seen an increase in donations, and with new board members in place, things are beginning to look more positive.

Sylacauga Animal Shelter Director Tina Limbaugh said the shelter took in approximately 4,000-5,000 animals last year, between 300-500 each month, although exact numbers were not available. The shelter’s operating budget for last year was approximately $138,500.

Cosper said the city of Sylacauga is doing the best it can to aid the shelter.

“The County Commission (gave) us a $10,000 gift that is not written into their budget,” she said. Cosper said the community can do a lot to help. The shelter can use monetary donations, volunteers, and also supplies including dog and cat food, cat litter, and cleaning supplies such as bleach and all-purpose cleaner.

“Get your pet spayed or neutered,” she said. “That will cut down on our animal population.”

Cosper said she wants to thank the community for their support.

“The voice we are trying to get out there is that yes, there were problems in the past, but we are doing our best to rectify them,” she said.

Jo Mitchell, treasurer of the Animal Shelter of Pell City Inc., said the shelter saw a 5 percent decrease in incoming animals in 2009 compared with 2008.

“This year was running about 20 percent under last year until June, when we had our second-highest number of animals ever incoming to the shelter,” she said. “July so far has been more on track with last year’s numbers.”

Mitchell said she attributes the decrease in numbers to the success of the shelter’s Spay/Neuter Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“We have had an overwhelming response to our low-cost SNAP program and can’t imagine what the incoming numbers would have been without the 746 surgeries that were completed since January,” she said.

Mitchell said the ASPCI took in more than 7,000 animals last year. The shelter has an annual operating cost of about $293,000.

“The county gives us $79,000 each year for animal control and provides an animal-control officer,” she said. “And beginning in May, the St. Clair County Commission voted to give us $1,000 each month to go directly into our SNAP program.”

Mitchell said the ASPCI contracts with Pell City, Argo, Odenville, Margaret, Ashville, Riverside, Ragland and Lincoln, but not Moody or Leeds, which contract animal-control services elsewhere.

“The shelter has a capacity of about 150 animals, and we stay at capacity,” she said.

Mitchell said the main shelter needs are bleach, paper towels, Purina Puppy Chow (puppies are fed the same brand of food to not upset their digestion), Purina Kitten Chow, dog food, and monetary donations.

“We have plenty of cat food right now, but anything donated is a big help,” she said.

Jessica McDonald, supervisor for animal control for Talladega County, said animal intake is very high and adoptions are way down.

“I think the economy is partially to blame, but it is puppy/kitten time of year,” she said.

“I think we will take in about the same amount of animals this year,” she said.

McDonald said the shelter took in about 3,000 animals last year.

“I think we will take in about the same amount of animals this year,” she said.

McDonald said the shelter’s capacity depends on the size of the dogs, but can hold about 50 adult dogs and 10-15 adult cats. The Talladega shelter has another room that can hold 10 litters of puppies or kittens, she said.

Talladega Police chief Alan Watson said Talladega County contracts with the city of Talladega for animal-control services.

“The county provides about $60,000 a year, which pays for the county animal-control officer,” he said.

Watson said the city’s three animal-control officers work with the county’s animal-control officer, providing mutual aid when needed and ensuring animal-control issues are properly dealt with.

“We go into every unincorporated area in Talladega County, but not Childersburg, Sylacauga or Lincoln,” he said. “We do provide services to Munford because their population is less than 5,000.”

Watson said the shelter has a pretty good donation base, but it is a very expensive venture for the city and county to operate the animal shelter. The shelter has an annual budget of approximately $160,000-$165,000, which includes the county.

“That excludes any major building expense,” he said. “In the past, the city and county have split those expenses.”

Watson said the county helped pay to build the current animal shelter building.

“We have a good relationship with the county,” he said. “It has been a good partnership for us.”

McDonald said there are several ways the community can help.

“One pretty consistent need we have is for people willing to foster animals,” she said. “We normally try to foster litters of puppies and kittens until they are old enough for adoption.”

McDonald said there is also a need for short-term fostering, two weeks or less, until the animals can be transferred to other rescue organizations for adoption.

“That’s the biggest thing the community can help with right now,” she said.

McDonald said the shelter can always use donations of cleaning supplies, especially bleach, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, scrub brushes, dog and cat food, paper towels, cat litter boxes, cat litter, scratching posts, cat perches, cat toys, and monetary donations.

“We can also use leftover pet cages for small mammals such as rabbits, ferrets, hamsters, and things such as food dishes and water bottles for those animals,” she said. “We use those for non-cat (or) dog animal surrenders.”

For more information call the Sylacauga Animal Shelter at 256-245-2500, the Animal Shelter of Pell City Inc. at 205-814-1567, or the Talladega Animal Shelter at 256-362-5856.

Contact Elsie Hodnett at ehodnett@dailyhome.com.