Community Response Alleviates Critical Overcapacity at Multnomah County Animal Services
Weekend adoptions and foster efforts create 17 open kennels, bringing the shelter back from crisis level.
Following an urgent plea on Friday, November 7, 2025, Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS) saw a tremendous response from the community, alleviating its immediate critical capacity crisis.
As of Monday morning, November 10, the shelter’s dog kennel capacity is at 82%, with 17 open kennels available for animals in need. This is a dramatic improvement from Friday, when the shelter was over its 92-kennel maximum.
The relief came after a weekend appeal to the public and media, resulting in:
- 30 dogs and puppies adopted
- 11 dogs moved into temporary foster homes
- 3 dogs transferred to regional rescues
"We are incredibly grateful to our community, local news outlets for sharing our story, and to our dedicated volunteers and staff for facilitating adoptions and fostering," said Erin Grahek, Director of Multnomah County Animal Services. "Your support and efforts have a tremendous, life-saving impact. You provided much-needed relief for the dogs in our care and our hardworking staff and volunteers, and you've made space for the next animal who desperately needs help."
Current Shelter Status
While the shelter is now in a more stable position, the ongoing need for adopters and foster volunteers remains high.
To ensure kennels remain available for stray animals and urgent safety cases, the shelter's pause on non-emergency owner-surrenders will continue. Owner-surrenders are still limited to cases posing potential safety risks.
The public is encouraged to visit multcopets.org/adoptables to view all animals available for adoption.
