MENANDS — As the stray dog population in the Capital Region grows, funding announced Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul aims to alleviate the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society and other shelters overextended by a worsening animal welfare crisis.
Hochul has allocated $7.6 million to animal shelters across New York as part of the Companion Animal Fund, including $700,000 that will be utilized to increase sheltering capacity for Mohawk Hudson through partnerships with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Schenectady.
“With a more than 38 percent increase in stray and seized dogs in the first quarter of this year, this funding comes at a critical time for our community,” Mohawk Hudson CEO Ashley Jeffrey Bouck said in a statement. “We’re extremely grateful to our partners who have been working with us on plans to increase sheltering capacity, as well as to Governor Hochul for the funding to make it happen.”
There are 135 dogs in the humane society’s care, split between 85 dog kennels and 14 foster homes, Marguerite Pearson, humane society director of marketing and communications, said. At the same time, adoptions are down by 20 percent.
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A $500,000 grant was awarded to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office to create an auxiliary shelter that will include 12 large, long-term housing kennels for dogs that are part of court cases. The facility, which will provide protection and space to dogs in protective custody from cruelty, neglect and other criminal cases, will feature indoor…
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