What are the biggest factors that have historically led to overcrowding in County animal shelters?
A lot has changed in the last few years in animal management across the United States. During COVID there was a spike in adoptions because many people were home. That trend continued for a couple of years, but as people returned to work their ability to care for their animals was impacted and shelter numbers started to rise. Returning to physical work and lost years of spay/neuter activities are the main cause of the current spike in animals. These factors in addition to a rise in informal “backyard” breeding has led to a situation where nearly all public shelters are over capacity.
Related questions
Animal Management (Environment)
ASFAC does use euthanasia in certain circumstances. Euthanasia is the process of painlessly and humanely assisting the pet to pass away. No animal is ever euthanized inhumanely.
Anyone 14+ can volunteer to work with animals in our facility. For those younger animal advocates we can work with groups to offer activities that support our operations indirectly.
Anyone may apply to adopt an animal from our shelter. Identification reflecting your current address must be presented when filling out the application form. If you lease a house or apartment, permission to keep a pet must be verified from the landlord. The adoption staff may perform a house check before approving the application to ensure that the pet being adopted will be in a safe and caring environment. Upon approval, you are required to pay an adoption fee prior to taking ownership of your pet. For more information, please call the Animal Services Division at 301-780-7200 and select option "2."
The best place to find out about our adoption events is on our website or through our social media. Those places will have updates on where we are and what we are doing. We partner with organizations and groups as much as possible.
We appreciate the support of County residents that support us in a wide variety of ways. We have many multiple volunteer activities and opportunities here at the facility. We always need more assistance, especially with walking the nearly 300 rolling animals in our care. If you don’t have time please consider making a donation. Those funds are used directly to assist in the overall care of the animals within the facility.
Please visit our Foster web page here , to find information on our Foster process. We vet all of our fosters to make sure we are placing animals into good temporary homes.
Volunteers are a huge part of our operations and assist in a wide variety of ways here at the facility, including core functions like cleaning, feeding, and walking. If you would like to become a volunteer please go online here.
Volunteers are a huge part of our operations and assist in a wide variety of ways here at the facility, including core functions like cleaning, feeding, and walking. If you would like to become a volunteer please go online here.
Get any animals you have spayed or neutered. Spaying or neutering your animal is the best way to keep our County’s animal population down. On top of this adopt don’t shop. There are a lot of pets, big and small, young and old in our facility who need furever homes. These animals are as ready to be a good pet as any you would get from a breeder. Our adoption and facility staff will help you find the right match.
You can obtain a pet license from:
- Prince George’s County Animal Management Division (3750 Brown Station Road, Upper Marlboro)
- College Park Animal Control Facility (4500 Knox Road, College Park)
- Bowie Animal Control Facility (15901 Excalibur Road, Bowie)
When submitting a license application for Prince George’s County, the following must be include:
- Copy of the spay/neuter certificate (if applicable),
- Check or money order payable to Prince George’s County in the amount of $10 for altered animals or $25 for unaltered animals.
License renewals can be mailed or purchased online here.
For additional licensing information contact 301-780-7200 and select option "3".
To schedule a presentation, please call the Community Outreach Coordinator at 301-780-7200 and select option “6.”
Animals who have lower immune responses, such as young, old, or sick animals are most at risk for becoming sick.
Puppies, small dogs, and kittens are mostly short stay animals. All other animals move a little slower within the facility, especially our senior and bigger dogs. Adoptions are also dependent upon the time of year. Before Easter the rabbits move quickly and after Easter we see an influx. Check online or come in and see what animals have been with us the longest and see how they match your life to foster or adopt.
Get any animals you have spayed or neutered. Spaying or neutering your animal is the best way to keep our County’s animal population down. In addition to this, “adopt don’t shop.” There are a lot of pets, big and small, young and old in our facility who need forever homes. These animals are as ready to be a good pet as any you would get from a breeder. Our adoption and facility staff will help you find the right match.
Get active in our animal community one way or another. Become a volunteer who takes a dog on doggy day out. Become a Foster who promotes the animal to all of your friends. Become a promoter of our available animals and let your friends, family, and neighbors know to come here and adopt from us.
Any donation of new items for animals, new towels or bedding, or funds are greatly appreciated. The best thing to donate is funds because we can allocate them to the best service of the animals in our care at that specific time, but all donated items are appreciated.
We do not offer this service unless your animal is taken into our care by some means. In those circumstances it is the cost set by one of our spay and neuter partners. The PGSPCA or Spay Spot, which operates out of our facility, offers low-cost spay and neuter fees and microchipping. We do periodically run events with our partners to offer these services at low or no-cost.
Adopting is taking ownership of the dog. The dog becomes the property and responsibility of the person who adopts. Fostering is an extension of the care of the ASFAC facility. We have a limited amount of space, but with the help of our fosters we can expand exponentially. The dog is still the property of the County and the foster is helping us find the forever home for that animal.
The ASFAC has dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea Pigs as well as a variety of other animals like reptiles, fish, goats, sheep, birds, chicken, pigs, and horses. What many people don’t realize about Prince George’s County is we have urban and rural areas so our animal selection here at the facility reflects that.
You can adopt or foster any animal that is in our care, we run the gamut.
ASFAC offers a wide variety of services depending on if the animal comes into our care or not. Any animal that comes into our care receives all relevant vaccinations, such as rabies, licensing, microchipping, and spay/neuter as appropriate. All of these costs are at significant reduction to what is seen in the private sector. We also offer free or low-cost services such as spay/neuter, licensing, microchipping, and vaccinations either regularly or through larger events. We also offer adoption pricing for veterans.
For information on low-cost spay/neuter services, please contact the Spay Spot Spay/Neuter Clinic located within the Animal Services Facility and Adoption Center at 301-254-8151.
To report a missing, vicious or injured animal, please call the Animal Services Division at 301-780-7200. Be prepared to provide additional information as appropriate, such as type of animal, last known location and condition of the animal.
There is a common misnomer that “No Kill” shelters are where no animal is euthanized. To be a “No Kill” shelter the shelter should reach a 90% save rate. In the second quarter of 2024 the shelter had an 80% save rate for dogs and a 75% save rate for cats. These are improvements of 20% and 5% respectively quarter over quarter, a significant improvement due to staff involvement. However, unfortunately, euthanasia's do occur at the facility due to a variety of reasons.
ASFAC is an open admission facility and takes in animals from across the County in a variety of manners. We accept strays, owner surrenders, owner euthanasia requests, humane holds, and impoundments. We accept these animals and serve them to the best of our abilities. As with most other public shelter facilities across the US, there are more animals coming in than going out.
All of our clinics offer services to our community at low or no-cost. We look to highlight how to reach each of our distinct communities of animal advocates within the County throughout the year as much as we can.