A shortage of space and a high number of stray and abandoned pets are combining to create a grim holiday season at the City of Cortez Animal Shelter.

Andrea Jeter, director of the shelter, said it is unusually crowded for this time of year.

"We’re a lot fuller than we should be," Jeter said. "We run on space available and this morning I had to euthanize two (dogs) to make room for the five that came in yesterday. That’s not a nice way to start the day."

The shelter has 15 cat spaces and 16 dog kennels with eight cats and 18 dogs currently occupying them. In the summer there are additional spaces available with outside kennels.

Statistics for the year 2000 are not complete yet, but Jeter expects that the numbers of animals the shelter has seen will be significantly higher than in the year before.

Jeter said in 1999 the shelter dealt with 1,327 animals, of which 506 were adopted out, 227 were reclaimed by their owners and 535 animals were euthanized.

"There were also 10 dead when they were brought in, and the rest of those were held over into 2000," Jeter said.

Last year, for the month of November, 143 animals came into the shelter in contrast to 182 this November. December comparisons were not available yet.

Jeter said there are a number of contributing factors that might play into the increase of animals at the shelter.

In the past there was a $20 drop-off charge when people brought their animals in and "surrendered" them.

"We try to stay away from that now," Jeter said.

She said under that policy, people were more likely to "dump" animals rather than bring the animals to the shelter.

"I’d rather just see them have the guts to come in instead of dumping them off behind City Market," Jeter said.

Another reason for the high numbers of animals could be the weather, Jeter said.

"It hasn’t been as cold, so there’s been an extended breeding season," she said. "We still have kittens and puppies coming in and they shouldn’t be this time of year."

Jeter said the shelter also serves a wide area and more people are becoming aware of its presence.

"We get animals from all over including the reservation, Teec Nos Pos, Kayenta, Monticello, Bluff, pretty much the entire Four Corners area."

Jeter said she is also seeing an increase in purebred dogs in the shelters.

"People justify not spaying or neutering their animals because they’re purebred," Jeter said.

She said sometimes people will breed their animals and then find there is no market for their litters.

"And just because they pay $500 for a dog doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll keep them," Jeter said. "Purebreds can have the same problems with chewing and running away."

Jeter said there are also many myths that surround animals, particularly working dogs used in agricultural areas such as Cortez.

"Some people believe in the myth that a dog should have a litter, or that it should go through a heat cycle before you have it spayed because it will make a better pet," she said. "Or that if you neuter a working dog, it will ruin it. That’s just not true."

She said spaying and neutering pets is vital to controlling the problem.

"The cat and dog population here is pretty outrageous," Jeter said.

Jeter also added she often has people bring in dogs, wanting them to find a "nice home on a farm where they can run."

"That’s the last kind of dog they want around livestock," Jeter said.

The type of animals brought to the shelter follows trends and fads in much the same way that shoppers can find last year’s style in the thrift store. Jeter said people are constantly running out and buying animals they’ve seen on televisions or in movies without considering the appropriateness of the breed.

"With all the agility and fly-ball trials on the Animal Planet channel, people see border collies and think they are so neat and they need to have one," Jeter said.

However, the breed requires extensive training and can be very difficult to handle if the owner is not familiar with their behavior, Jeter said. Many people find out about these characteristics too late and eventually surrender the border collies to the shelter.

"The next big thing will be Dalmatians because of the Disney movie," Jeter said. "But people don’t realize Dalmatians are not ‘kid’ dogs. They tend to bite and they have a lot of health issues. A lot of them are deaf and have skin problems."

She said shelters saw the same thing with hounds when "The Fox and the Hound" came out, just as golden retrievers, pugs and Himalayan cats were big following the movie "Homeward Bound."

"Unfortunately the cute little animals you see in the movies are some of the most difficult ones to have as pets," Jeter said.

Jeter said many people decide to take "the easy way out" and bring the unwanted pet to the shelter.

"We live in a disposable society," she said. "People don’t want to take responsibility so they bring them here."

But the shelter suffers from a shortage of space.

"There’s no standard minimum or maximum (numbers of kennels)," Jeter said. "There are only requirements on size of spaces in relation to the size of the animal."

Jeter said that it would help if they had more room for more animals but that the addition of animals triggers staff and budget issues.

"I think we have what we can handle," she said.

When an animal arrives at the shelter, it is taken to a receiving room where it is inspected and receives standard vaccinations.

"We try to keep them in receiving for at least 24 hours so we can observe them," Jeter said.

The shelter personnel take note of the animal’s weight and other physical traits related to the animal’s care previous to their arrival as well as their behavior.

If the animal is a stray or impound, state law requires the shelter to hold it for five working days before the animal can either be adopted out or euthanized.

However, if the animal is surrendered it is immediately cleared for both. Jeter said the statute is unfortunate in this respect because, when there is over-crowding, surrendered animals are often the first to die even if they are the animals more likely to find a new home.

Jeter said euthanasia at the shelter is unfortunate but is a forced reality because of the overpopulation of unwanted animals. The physical and mental state of the animal is taken into consideration when an animal is selected for the fatal injection. She said animals in small spaces, in time, can become very depressed and the quality of life can affect their mental state.

However, the shelter does adopt out a number of animals on a regular basis. People interested in adoption first come in and look through the shelter to see if there is an animal they want. The next step is to fill out a pre-adoption questionnaire.

Many of the questions are about the home the animal will be going into, including space, number and ages of children in the house, other pets and if there is a fenced yard.

"For instance, I’m not going to adopt out a Great Dane to someone who lives in a studio apartment, or an aggressive dog to a home with a small child," Jeter said.

Other questions inquire about intentions to spay or neuter, whether the person is aware of the costs involved and if they have a veterinarian.

"We use it (the questionnaire) as a learning tool and not so much an application," Jeter said.

There is a $40 adoption fee for dogs and $28 for cats. Twenty dollars of the dog fee and $18 of the cat fee are refunded upon proof of spaying or neutering of the animal.

Jeter said there is also an income-based program for people with lower incomes to help those who really want a pet and will be responsible owners but can’t afford the adoption cost.

She said the adoption fees are to help cover the costs of food, vaccinations and other necessities the shelter might have.

Jeter said because the shelter is owned by the city of Cortez, it functions within a set budget and is limited when it comes to seeking out other funding.

"We can’t do any fundraisers," she said. "But we do take donations. Wal-Mart has been great. They donate torn bags of dog and cat food."

Jeter said there are a number of things people can do or donate to help the shelter. Food, especially for puppies and kittens, is always needed, as well as blankets, toys and cleaning agents. People are also welcome to come in and walk the animals or give them "play-time" attention.

Jeter said donations are a great way for people to help, even though they are saddened by seeing the animals in the shelter, knowing the dismal fate for which many are destined.