On the morning of June 23, air conditioning at Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center (MCASAC) shut off suddenly due to a mechanical issue. MCASAC sought emergency foster homes for sheltered animals amid the heat wave sweeping the area.
On June 24, they made a post to their Instagram stating, “We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who stepped up in response to our emergency foster plea. Because of your compassion and quick action, many animals are now safe and cool in loving foster homes while we address a mechanical issue in the building.”
Around 11:30 a.m., MCASAC announced that air conditioning was repaired and operational. Facilities Management is on standby in case it breaks again, and short-term fosters are still available.
“We received tons of offers for emergency foster homes,” said intake specialist Maria Anselmo, “I am currently still working through 100 or more emails offering foster homes.”
MCASAC currently houses 216 animals in its shelter and another 140 in foster homes across the area. The shelter is dangerously overcrowded, meaning they can only accept animals who are at immediate risk of euthanasia. MCASAC encourages available community members to foster pets despite the averted emergency, Anselmo said.
“Capacity issues are with dogs, specifically large dogs. We have animals that show up every day, whether they’re owner surrenders or lost animals. We [also provide] animal services, so we receive [pets surrendered in] cruelty cases or seizures. We have dogs that continue to come in, but we have nowhere to keep them. We’ve been able to walk a fine line of accepting animals without euthanizing them. As an open admission shelter, we can’t just stop the intakes. We encourage those who have found lost animals to hold onto them for a few days in case they find the owner.”
Information on how to foster or adopt an animal as well as operating times can be found on the MCASAC website.
