Pennsylvania animal shelter emptied for first time in almost 50 years ahead of holidays

It really was a silent night for one Pennsylvania animal shelter at Christmas.

Just ahead of the holidays, the Adams County SPCA announced that its kennels had been cleared nearly completely. It marked the first time the shelter — which takes in homeless, abandoned, and lost animals — was empty in 47 years.

“Two weeks ago, our kennels were almost filled,” the shelter wrote in a now-viral Facebook post on Friday. “To say that we are beyond excited is an understatement! The staff and volunteers have worked VERY hard to take care of the animals in our care and to make sure they got adopted to the right home!”

In total, the shelter said nearly 600 animals were adopted this year and 125 strays were reunited with their owners.

Of course, just before announcing the empty kennels, the shelter said one stray cat was brought in.

Indeed, as of Wednesday, the shelter has only a single cat listed for adoption: Leland, a purebred Persian who is about 4 years old and was brought in by a previous owner.

The news of the Adams County SPCA clearing its shelter at the holidays sparked nationwide celebration, with the story being picked up by the Today show and We Rate Dogs. “Clear the Shelter” initiatives aim to empty out often overflowing animal shelters, a widespread issue that can eventually lead to animals being euthanized in shelters merely for space.

According to the ASPCA, an estimated 6.3 million pets enter shelters annually nationwide — mostly dogs and cats. About 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized each year, down from an estimated 2.6 million in 2011, the ASPCA said.

The Pennsylvania shelter’s empty halls stand in stark contrast to most U.S. animal shelters. Shelters are expected to start 2024 the most overcrowded they’ve been in years, according to a recent survey of animal rescue facilities.

There are roughly a quarter of a million more pets in animal shelters this holiday season compared with the same period in 2022, the nonprofit Shelter Animals Count reported. This is in part attributed to a “cooling off period” following a surge in adoptions during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when nearly 1 in 5 households adopted a pet, as noted by the Washington Post.

Still, experts predict that a sunnier outlook could be on the horizon: They say better economic forecasts indicate a higher likelihood for pet adoptions and donations to shelters in need, and this holiday season, spending was up.

At another shelter, the Pennsylvania SPCA launched a Taylor Swift Challenge earlier this month. The campaign implored people to donate funds on the Berks County-raised pop star’s birthday, Dec. 13, in honor of her Time Magazine cover that featured Swift’s cat, Benjamin Button.

A spokesperson told The Inquirer the campaign raised more than $10,000, and other shelters around the country joined in.

“I can only imagine that significant dollars were raised and will be saving so many lives,” said spokesperson Gillian Kocher.

Back in Adams County, the shelter said it will begin taking animals from other shelters into its freshly emptied kennels to help alleviate workload and financial pressures.