Bay Area animal shelters say overcrowding has hit a crisis stage.
At least three dogs at the Santa Clara County animal shelter were set to be euthanized Monday night if they weren't adopted in time.
"It’s really sad," Lisa Jenkins with Santa Clara County Animal Services said. "We’ve pleaded and pleaded out in the community about our situation, about how over capacity we are."
The shelter is in code red, meaning capacity has reached such a crisis point that some dogs will have to be euthanized.
"Being over capacity, we’re identifying some dogs that are a little bit harder with behavior issues," Jenkins said. "We really need people to step up and take them to avoid putting those dogs to sleep."
The shelter said it has been putting out pleas since December, but it continues to get more dogs coming in than going out.
"We know all these dogs have owners," Jenkins said. "They’re not feral dogs. They’re not street dogs. They're somebody's pets, somebody knows their pet is here."
If the overcrowding continues, the shelter said it's likely to face more code reds in the future.
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