.png)
More than a dozen dogs up for adoption are facing a 6 p.m. deadline as shelter deals with overcrowding.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — More than a dozen dogs are at risk of being euthanized at the Prince George’s County animal shelter if they aren't adopted by 6 p.m. Tuesday. This is an ongoing issue WUSA9 has been covering. According to a shelter volunteer, 16 dogs remain on the urgent list. The shelter has been posting pictures of the dogs in critical need of a forever home on its Facebook page.
New data shows Prince George’s County has the highest euthanization rate in the state of Maryland, even though the shelter doesn’t take in the most dogs.
In 2023, the Prince George’s County animal shelter took in more than 4,300 dogs and euthanized more than 25%. The Baltimore animal rescue and care shelter took in 5,300 dogs and euthanized less than 15% of their dogs. Animal advocates have said a nearly 30-year ban on pit bulls in Prince George’s County is contributing to these numbers. Earlier this month the county hosted a virtual town hall to get the community’s input on this ban and whether or not it’s something that should continue. So far no word on if the county plans to lift this ban, but WUSA9 has continued to cover this issue.
Last month, volunteers were sounding the alarm about the current pit bull ban in place in Prince George's County. The legislation has been in place since 1997 and because of it pit bulls or pit bull mixes at the shelter cannot be adopted out to people who live in the county.
"It puts like a really strong burden on the facility here the staffing there’s so many dogs to care for and we feel like if these dogs were allowed to be adopted in county it would kind of lighten the load for everybody," said Amy Pergosky, who volunteers regularly. She's been an advocate of getting rid of the ban for years.
The county has already hosted at least one virtual town hall.
"Our goal is to do this engagement campaign that we’ve already started to set up that will happen over the next month where we are going to have town halls and really ask people what do you think our policy needs to be to keep you safe around animals," said Andrea Crooms, director of the county's department of environment when asked if she thought the county's breed specific legislation was outdated.
The shelter is located at 3750 Brown Station Road Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. Hours of operation are Tues - Fri 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sat 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Click here to look through dogs available for adoption.
English (US) ·