SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego Humane Society is dealing with an influx of stray pets following the Fourth of July weekend.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Humane Society has taken in a total of 138 strays. On Independence Day alone, the organization took in 25 animals.
So far, 27 pets have already been picked up by their owners, but nearly 111 pets are still missing from their homes.
But some are still looking for their lost pets that have gone missing.
“Never thought I’d be part of the story that had a missing dog because of fireworks,” Adrienne Alpert said.
We caught up with long-time journalist Adrienne Alpert who was visiting friends in San Diego when her two-year-old Golden Doodle Stella went missing.
“My dog got off of her leash. She was not watching fireworks, but she got freaked. And Stella has been missing now since July 3rd,” Alpert said.
Plenty of stray pets are now in the care of the San Diego Humane Society that’s come in from July 4 to July 5.
“We see pets scared by fireworks on July 4, New Year's Eve every single year,” Jordan Frye of the San Diego Humane Society said.
“That includes dogs, cats, and other small pets.”
If you believe one of these animals could be yours, check the Humane Society's website or stop by in person at one of their locations.
The organization is currently waiving its reclaim fee.
“It’s definitely distressing to see so many stray pets come in and we know even more are lost and may not make it to the shelter. We know that fireworks are extremely stressful for pets,” Frye said.
Different places like the community pet pantry are being used to house the stray pets on the Fourth of July only adding to the overcapacity issues at the Humane Society’s shelters.
“This year it’s particularly heartbreaking to see so many pets entering the shelter because we are so far over capacity where we were at this time last year,” Frye said.
“We have over 2,500 animals in care across all of our shelters right now. And this is the highest capacity that we’ve seen in San Diego Humane Society’s over 100-year history.”
The Humane Society told ABC 10News that currently, THEIR dog housing between all of our campuses is above 170 percent and their cat housing is above 140 percent.
As owners search for their lost pets after the fourth, some are successful. Alpert told ABC 10News they’re searching for Stella to close this sad part of her story.
