By Adam Pagnucco.
A recent Brookings Institution study revealed the damage caused by lost federal jobs and grants to MoCo’s economy as well as its neighbors. That damage will only be exacerbated by the recent federal government shutdown, which has been the longest in U.S. history. But there may be another consequence:
Soaring surrenders of pets that are overloading the county’s animal shelter.
The county’s Office of Animal Services (OAS) operates the Montgomery County Animal Services & Adoption Center. The office employs 78 full-time equivalent positions and is aided by two nonprofits and hundreds of volunteers. In addition to operating the shelter, the office provides veterinary services, investigates complaints and responds to animal emergencies.
Currently, the shelter is running this message on its website:
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Montgomery County Office of Animal Services is over capacity with dogs. Additionally, the shelter environment IS an extremely stressful environment for an animal. We encourage animal owners to seek out all reasonable alternatives before bringing their dog(s) to the shelter. Animals are often times exposed to diseases, despite our best efforts to minimize exposure. The animal shelter cannot make any guarantees on placement and reserves the right to determine final disposition for the animal to include adoption, foster, rescue, or humane euthanasia. We strongly recommend you consider alternative options, including re-homing the pet if you are able to.
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That message may understate problems with animal services. In a recent letter to the county executive and the county council, the county’s Animal Services Advisory Committee noted: “Year-over-year data show a nearly 50% increase in surrenders, a trend driven largely by economic instability, including job loss and housing insecurity, which is leaving many families unable to care for their beloved pets.” The committee predicted a range of bad consequences including a “breakdown in animal welfare,” a “collapse in live release rates,” increased potential for disease and rising legal liability for the county.
In the long term, the committee would like to see more funding to keep pets in their homes. In the short term, the committee would like the county to fund five more animal care attendant positions. The committee states, “If approved midway through FY26, the cost of these positions would require a supplemental appropriation of just $225,000.”
It’s a bit unusual to fund new positions outside of the regular budget process. However, if the committee is right, this office could use some attention. Few animal shelters can handle a 50% surge in admissions in a year.
The letter from the Animal Services Committee to the executive and the council is reprinted below.
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Animal Services Advisory Committee
October 23, 2025
Via: Email
The Honorable Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive
The Honorable Kate Stewart, President, Montgomery County Council
Dear County Executive Elrich and Council President Stewart:
We write to you today as members of your duly appointed Animal Services Advisory Committee (ASAC), a body legally charged with advising you on matters related to the Office of Animal Services (OAS). In this role, we have remained committed to providing objective, well-reasoned recommendations based on the evolving needs of our community. It is in that spirit that we now bring to your urgent attention the critical need for additional staffing resources at OAS.
At our monthly meetings, we receive operational updates from OAS Director Caroline Hairfield as well as observations from ASAC members who regularly volunteer at MCASAC. Over time, and culminating at our most recent meeting, it became clear that OAS is facing a serious and escalating challenge: a dramatic rise in animal intakes, particularly owner surrenders. Year-over-year data show a nearly 50% increase in surrenders, a trend driven largely by economic instability, including job loss and housing insecurity, which is leaving many families unable to care for their beloved pets. There is no data leading us to believe that the factors driving this dire situation will be resolved any time soon. If anything, we should anticipate things getting worse. Montgomery County residents are forced to make gut-wrenching decisions that separate them from beloved pets (family members), but they also assume that surrendering a pet to the County OAS will be the best alternative for their pet to be safe and healthy.
Ideally, the County would invest in programs that help families keep their pets in their homes-through food assistance, veterinary subsidies, and housing support. Such preventative strategies are not only more humane, but also more cost-effective in the long term. However, in the immediate term, the County must ensure that OAS has the capacity to safely and humanely care for the influx of animals entering the shelter.
In response to our inquiry regarding the minimum resources needed to address this surge, OAS has identified a need for five (5) additional full-time Animal Care Attendant (ACA) positions. Our committee (which includes many non-profit business leaders who work within tight budgets and make tough decisions every day and MCASAC volunteers) agrees that these positions are essential to maintain even baseline standards of care under current intake volumes. If approved midway through FY26, the cost of these positions would require a supplemental appropriation of just $225,000.
We emphasize that this request represents the minimum investment necessary to preserve humane conditions and protect staff, volunteers, animals, and the public. Without immediate intervention, OAS faces an operational crisis with far-reaching consequences.
Over the past year, OAS has experienced:
- A 38% increase in owner surrenders, driven by economic hardship, housing instability, and rising pet care costs.
- Chronic overcapacity, leading to heightened disease risk and behavioral deterioration among animals.
- Dangerously high animal-to-staff ratios, far exceeding best practice standards from the Association of Shelter Veterinarians.
- Severe strain on existing staff, resulting in delayed feeding, cleaning, medical observation, and behavioral enrichment.
Despite their dedication and professionalism, the current OAS staff simply cannot meet the demand with existing resources. Without urgent support, the following risks will become reality:
- Breakdown in Animal Welfare – A surge in preventable illness, suffering, and deaths among shelter animals.
- Collapse in Live Release Rates – A projected 30-40% decline, undoing years of progress and lifesaving programs.
- Public Health and Safety Risks – Increased potential for disease outbreaks affecting staff, volunteers, and the community.
- Legal and Financial Exposure – Unsafe conditions that place the County at risk of liability.
- Loss of Public Trust- Negative media coverage and public outcry resulting from visible declines in care.
- Staff Burnout and Turnover – Continued overextension of staff that will worsen the workforce shortage.
We urge the County Executive to request – and the County Council to approve – an emergency supplemental appropriation of $225.000 to support these five necessary ACA positions. The cost of inaction will be measured not just in dollars, but in diminished public trust, avoidable suffering and heartbreak, and reputational harm to the County and its passionate and outspoken animal-loving (voting) constituents.
We thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and for your continued commitment to the wellbeing of both the animals in our care and the community we serve.
On behalf of the Animal Services Advisory Committee,
Vicki Thomas, Chair
Jan Armstrong, Vice Chair