Last week, the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter came dangerously close to breaking its no-kill promise due to overcrowding.

Thanks to a last-minute wave of community support, dozens of dogs were adopted or fostered, and not a single one was euthanized due to space.

But this shelter can’t keep doing it alone.

With more dogs arriving daily and resources stretched to the limit, we’re calling on Cuyahoga County leaders to step up and provide:

• Emergency funding for additional temporary housing or pop-up kennels
• Increased staffing or volunteer coordination resources
• Permanent funding for foster and adoption outreach programs
• Public support to expand low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination services.

This shelter isn’t just rescuing animals—it’s honoring a commitment to humane, life-saving care, even when capacity is tight.

The community has done its part. Now it’s time for the county to invest in long-term solutions that prevent crisis-level overcrowding and ensure that no healthy, adoptable dog is ever put down due to lack of space.