San Francisco’s city-run animal shelter is at capacity with dogs — mostly large ones — and is waiving adoption fees for most dogs through Jan. 31, according to the Department of Animal Care and Control.
Following a dip in dog intake at shelters nationally — and in San Francisco — in the first two years of the pandemic, the city shelter saw a major uptick in the number of dogs coming its way in 2022 and 2023.
And, while the shelter does not euthanize animals unless they have severe medical conditions or behavioral issues that are dangerous to the community, the fear is there.
“We haven’t gotten to the place where we need to euthanize for space at all,” said Ariana Luchsinger, operations manager at the Department of Animal Care and Control. “But can I say with confidence, like I could have five years ago, that it won’t happen? I can’t.”
The shelter, located at Bryant and Alameda streets, just south of Highway 101, is an open-admission animal shelter, meaning it accepts all animals, regardless of temperament, medical condition or species. As of Tuesday, the city shelter had 84 dogs, while a more comfortable level would be 50 to 60, shelter staff said.
“As open admission, we’ve always been full occasionally,” said Deb Campbell, spokesperson for the department. “But this has been consistent. We fill up at least once a month, sometimes more” since 2022, she said.
The rising cost of pet ownership is the main driver of the increasing number of dogs turned into the shelter, said Luchsinger. A lack of access to veterinary care and pet-friendly housing also contributes to the problem.
“Inflation kind of scared people away from adopting, or they had to surrender,” Luchsinger said. “Because they can’t really help their pet the way that they need to.”
After tens of thousands of San Franciscans left the city during the pandemic, more dogs were relegated to shelters. That was especially true for bigger dogs over 50 pounds, as they were less likely to be accepted by landlords, Luchsinger added.
Studies showed that Covid-19 lockdowns also led to the reduction of spay-neuter surgeries for dogs and cats, “resulting in a lot more puppies and kittens that are now adult dogs,” said Luchsinger.
Now, more dogs are entering the shelter system, and fewer are being adopted. “It’s basically a bottleneck right now,” Luchsinger said.
Every morning, Luchsinger starts her day by counting how many kennels are available for the day. For the dogs, an overcrowded shelter feels similar to someone living in a really small apartment where “the neighbors are constantly playing gigantic bass music and there’s always garbage in the hallway,” Luchsinger said.
“When we’re so full, they’re, like, at a rave 24/7,” she said. “They don’t get a lot of sleep; it’s hard on a dog.”
In situations like this, the shelter has to defer non-emergency dog intake. More staff time will be spent on cleaning and feeding, instead of “enrichment” activities — anything beyond basic needs, such as giving them toys and treats, training on their kennel behavior, or just spending time with them.
With 16 staff members in animal care, the department relies heavily on volunteers. Rebecca Schwartz, a volunteer at the shelter for eight years, takes shelter dogs out for field trips to Ocean Beach or Golden Gate Park, and sometimes ends the day with a sleep-over in her home.
“The volunteers really are the backbone of keeping the day-to-day spirit of dogs in a joyful place,” she said. “If I can give each dog a really good day, that’s a win.”
But being in a shelter is a stressful experience for some dogs, Schwartz added. “For some dogs, it’s the best place they’ve ever been. But for others, they used to be in a home.”
The change has prompted the city shelter to ask those surrendering their dogs to consider alternatives, Luchsinger said. Either it’s finding family, friends or people in the community to take care of the pet temporarily or permanently, or it could be connecting people with veterinary services and pet-food pantries.
“For a long time, the industry was like, ‘Shelter, shelter, shelter,’” said Luchsinger. “Now, we would love every animal to be in a home. Both ends of the leash are better if they can stay together.”
Adoptable dogs at San Francisco Animal Care and Control can be found here. The shelter is located at 1419 Bryant St. and animal adoptions take place daily from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m, except on city holidays.
Maytag, two-year-old male, wakes up from his afternoon nap on Jan. 9, 2024. He is available for adoption. Photo by Junyao Yang. 
Surprise, a two-year-old, stays in the kennel with her four-week-old puppies on Jan. 9, 2024. She will be going to a foster home. Photo by Junyao Yang. 
Junie, two-year-old, greets visitors on Jan. 9, 2024. She is available for adoption. Photo by Junyao Yang.
“Nina, one-year-old, greets visitors on Tuesday afternoon, next to her six-week-old puppies”……lack of spaying & neutering isn’t helping these poor creatures, along with the purchasing of “purebreds”…..
Many years ago, I watched a documentary about a mobile van in Los Angeles that went around the city offering free spay-neuter surgeries on the spot. Why is that not happening here? Tech millionaires–how about funding this? There doesn’t seem to be a real incentive or motivation for trying to get ahead of, at least the problem, of too many street-bred and unwanted dogs.
And why, every time I see a TV or newspaper report do I see video/photos of mostly pit bulls in stories about this frequent crisis as outlined in this article?
There are only 15 dogs listed for adoption on Animal Care and Control’s website.
The majority of dogs at the shelter are not available for adoption, at least not yet. Many are just arriving and there is a waiting period before they can be made available, if appropriate. Many have medical issues that need to be attended to. Some are there because their humans are in hospital or jail. Some are being housed because their human (usually female) is leaving an abusive relationship. Many are waiting to be transferred to a rescue partner, which could be up in Washington state, over in Idaho, or down in San Diego, and they’re waiting for a ride in a car or on a plane. Most are being socialized behind the scenes with a group of volunteers separate from the regular, amazing dog volunteers, a group that works hard to get them to the available dogs side or ready for transfer to a rescue or to be redeemed. As much as the shelter would love to have every dog out there and ready to find a new home, that’s just not reasonably possible.
If you would like to volunteer, whether socializing the dogs (or any of the other animals the shelter takes in) or transporting them, please contact the shelter. They are always looking for more volunteers.
Good luck to anyone who’s not a homeowner and wants to adopt one of these dogs- this shelter requires written consent from the landlord as a prerequisite. That’s more than the law requires: California renters have the right to an emotional support animal, regardless of landlord consent.
The reason the shelter requires written consent is because of the return rate when that consent has not been given. It has happened way too often, and it’s not fair to the dogs who have no idea what is going on. They think they’re finally home when they wind up getting returned because the landlord did not give consent.
I recently adopted my handsome bulldog/terriers.
he seems to feel right at home, like he’s lived here with me for years.
I love my shelter dog. wete enriching each others lives immediately.
diesel I’d his name. I love him
Yet despite all of the unwanted and dumped animals in this shelter and every other, people still go to breeders for their pets. Not surprisingly, “purebred” animals get dumped too. What is wrong with people?
Does the City have a foster program? In other places, people volunteer to foster while the dog is up for adoption. It’s a way of easing the shelter population and also helping the dog, who may have been abused or abandoned.
The shelter does have a foster program, but currently only for kittens and small animals (guinea pigs, rabbits, rats and other small rodents, birds). The website does show CHAMP (Caregivers Helping Animals Make Progress – for adolescent and adult dogs and cats) and Puppy fostering, but the applications are not included at the moment, I don’t know why. If someone is interested, they should reach out to the shelter directly to get more information.
As a former dog owner and dog lover, whenever start to consider adopting another dog after my rescue dog died, all I see are pitbulls and rotties or mixes. Maybe it is time that we think about whether incentivizing more sterilization of these breeds is in order. In addition to the lack of space in most cities for these kinds of dogs, most people find their heft and reputation for aggression to be a deal breaker. I won’t adopt one, even though they are super cute and can be sweet. Why? because I don’t want to be the person whose very strong dog bites a child (way different than a chihuahua or jack russell). I was a caregiver to a friend’s very sweet pit bull mix but the dog suddenly bit a mailman and the amount of blood was shocking. And I have been bruised and injured by a rambunctious pitbull puppy just running into me. Sweet dogs but not a good risk for most people.
There is already a law in place in San Francisco regarding spaying and neutering of dogs classified as Pit Bulls. It’s called BSL, or Breed Specific Legislation and was enacted in 2005.
I am sad to know about the dog that bit the mailman. Without knowing the history of the dog, I can’t comment on the situation, of course, although I would question why the dog had access to the mailman and wasn’t leashed or otherwise under human control. I would also want to know what led up to the attack, had it happened before, and were there any warning signs. And I do hope the incident was reported. If it was, I’m sure all of those questions were asked/answered. The last thing anyone wants is for an aggressive dog to be unleashed and in the community.
A great article that reminds me of an old Harry Truman quote: “You want a friend in this town? Get a dog!”