The Summit County Animal Control and Shelter saw a historically high number of pet surrenders in 2023, and staff say the trend is persisting in 2024. A Breckenridge local is teaming up with the shelter and other local nonprofits to combat the problem.

In 2023, the Summit County Animal Shelter recorded 157 pet abandonments. According to shelter’s data going back to 2013, this is the highest number of surrenders the county has seen in the past decade. 

Data from Summit County Animal Shelter from Jan. 1 through May 3 of this year shows the shelter received 72 pet surrenders during that time period. Staff at the shelter say the continuation of surrenders has forced them to reduce their transfer program, in which they help out shelters in other states that are too full by taking some of their animals.

There’s myriad reasons people surrender pets. Yet, staff at the shelter say behavioral issues and troubling financial situations are the top two reasons people cited for surrendering their pets. 

Suzanne Ackley is a Breckenridge resident and animal lover who is partnering with Summit County Animal Shelter and local nonprofits to help people in tight financial situations be able to keep their pets. Thanks to her efforts, Summit County now has a pet food pantry. 

“We just want people to be able to keep their pet at home and one basic way of doing that is to offer food,” Ackley said. 

Ackley also got Costco, City Market, Petco, Walmart, pet food manufacturer Royal Canin, A&A Pet Supply and Feed in Frisco and Animal Lovers’ Pet Supply in Breckenridge on board with her plan.

These companies agreed to donate overstocked and damaged items, such as pet food cans that have been dropped and dented, to the pantry’s inventory. Ackley is seeking even more partnerships, and is also working with places such as Food Pantry of the Rockies. 

Local nonprofits Family and Intercultural Resource Center and Father Dyer United Methodist Church have agreed to be the pick-up and drop-off locations for the pantry. 

Family and Intercultural Resource Center has been a drop-off location for around a month and food systems manager Kay Tauscher said in that short amount of time it’s become evident that this is a need in the community.

“Now that people know we have had this, we definitely have had people coming in and asking for it,” Tauscher said.

On top of supporting the pet food pantry, the Summit County Animal Shelter is working on other tactics to mitigate pet surrenders.

Animal control supervisor JJ McGill will be taking over the helm of the ship May 6, following the retirement of animal control director Lesley Hall. McGill said Hall has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to animal welfare and this has helped the shelter be proactive in its problem solving.

McGill said the shelter has been lucky to have more people starting to participate in its foster program and take dogs that have behavioral issues. Summit County Animal Shelter, and shelters across the country, have reported receiving more surrenders due to behavioral issues in recent years due to impacts caused by the pandemic. McGill said this is largely due to a lack of in-person resources available for new pet owners or opportunities to socialize pets.

She said many of these foster parents have been willing to participate in a dog training program the shelter offers. Those fostering pets with behavioral issues work with trainers to get the pet to a place where they are well behaved enough to be adoptable. 

McGill said she plans to expand a few of the shelter’s existing programs and create new ones through strengthening the partnership between the shelter and local nonprofit, the League for Animals and People of Summit. 

McGill also just stepped up as League for Animals and People of Summit president. She said the partnership between the shelter and the nonprofit has been invaluable in the past since the nonprofit helps provide funding to spay or neuter the shelter’s animals. 

“I’m hoping to continue that and then also bolster LAPS (League for Animals and People of Summit) emergency medical funds that they provide to the public,” McGill said.

To donate to the League for Animals and People of Summit, go to SummitLaps.org.

The pet food pantry donation hours for Family and Intercultural Resource Center’s Breckenridge drop-off and pick-up are Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The drop-off and pick-up hours for the nonprofit’s Dillon locations are Mondays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The drop-off hours for the Father Dyer Church are Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.