BILLINGS — The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter saw an influx of stray dogs as the holiday season wrapped up, a common occurrence during this time of year.
Nearly 20 dogs were brought into the shelter after Christmas. To help reunite them with their owners, the shelter is waiving boarding fees, which tends to draw more people if there is a low financial barrier.
"We have been fortunate enough to be able to return about half of those dogs to owners," said Gabi Fry, the shelter's director of operations.
The shelter was busy on Saturday after the increase of strays. Matthew Glover and his fiancé were there to adopt a new addition to their family.
“My fiancé and I believe in adopting. We believe in giving a home to someone who doesn't have one, and that's why we adopted little Luna today," said Glover.
The shelter hopes that like Glover, others will do the same. Despite the added pressure on staff, the increase in animals is not unexpected. The excitement and chaos of the season can cause some unnecessary stress on animals.
"A lot of times, family will bring animals from out of town and your dog or your pets aren't big fans, so they sneak out the door just with all the excitement going on," said Fry. "Prepare for Christmas and Thanksgiving like you would prepare for the Fourth of July for your animals because it is a very stressful, very confusing time for our animals, and that's when we see a lot of strays come in."
Fry explained that a large misconception about these high numbers after the holidays is that people return pets that were given as Christmas gifts or surrender older dogs for puppies, but that is not typically the case.
“A lot of people think that we get an influx after the holidays of animals coming in because they were gifts that people weren't prepared for or didn't want, and while we do get some of those, we get those year-round. It happens,” said Fry.
The shelter does, however, understand that there are situations where a pet might not fit into a home and has to be returned, and they are usually open to accepting animals when necessary.
“I know it's embarrassing. I know it's awkward, but I would rather people do that than get to a situation where there's trauma involved,” said Fry.
The shelter does have plans to expand and build a new facility in Wilson Park in 2027. It hopes that the proposed shelter will help alleviate some of the problems that come with being at capacity.
“We've been working really hard with our architects to design something that is like the ideal animal shelter. Like it is our absolute dream and goal to make something as close to perfect as we can get," said Fry.
Until then, the shelter encourages pet owners to keep their animals' microchips up to date and prepare for the holiday craziness. This can help reduce the number of strays and ensure that pets stay safe at home.
"We're trying to be mindful of this and reminding people is that at daylight savings time, it's a good time to check your animal's microchip. Make sure everything is still functional and the phone numbers are right," said Fry.
