You have probably heard by now that the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) has been well over capacity when it comes to the number of animals in its care. The shelter’s El Cajon campus, however, is in a particularly dire situation at 248% capacity.
“It is a mind boggling number. The amount of animals that we see come in on a daily basis is truly incredible right now,” said Nina Thompson, the Director of Public Relations for the San Diego Humane Society.
The situation has gotten to the point where some of the shelter’s employees are holding animals in their offices, according to Animal Services Supervisor Lawna Coffman, because there just isn’t enough room for all of the animals. When possible, several dogs are also being placed into the same kennel.
“Just keep in mind that every room and every kennel is essentially set up for one dog,” said Coffman.
SDHS is currently caring for close to 2,000 animals across all of its campuses. Typically just after the summer months is when things start to slow down for the shelter. However, Thompson said that has not been the case for the last three years now.
The situation, however, is not unique to SDHS. Thompson said this is a situation that many animal shelters across San Diego County, and the country, are dealing with.
“All shelters in San Diego County and in the country are seeing the same thing: large dogs are coming in and staying for longer periods of time,” said Thompson.
This begs the question of why the shelters have remained over capacity. NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 partnered with SDHS during the month of August for its annual Clear The Shelters campaign, where more than 2,000 animals were adopted out to loving homes. Despite other adoption campaigns throughout 2025, SDHS said adoptions are down 12% so far this year.
The shelter said that the reality is that as many pets are being adopted, even more are being brought into the shelter on a daily basis. Additionally, many lost animals are never reclaimed by their owners. But Thompson said that’s just one part of the problem.
“Every single day we have somebody coming to our doors with a large litter of puppies, they had an unexpected litter, they can’t take care of them, so they come to San Diego Humane Society,” said Thompson. “There are a lot of pets out there who are not spayed and neutered right now, and that is certainly increasing what we’re seeing at the shelters,” she added.
Of the 1,983 animals currently being cared for by SDHS, 792 are dogs, 951 are cats, and 137 are small pets. 103 are in the “other” category, such as reptiles.
Some of the pets that have been brought in were surrendered by their owners. SDHS encourages people to try and rehome pets themselves, rather than bring them into the shelter.
“It’s really tough times right now with the economy, we know there’s inflation, veterinary care is extremely expensive. The thing that we want to let pet owners know is that we are here to help. If you want to keep your pet, we want you to keep your pet,” said Thompson. “We can provide pet food, we can provide low cost veterinary care. Come and have that conversation with us if you’re struggling because we want to keep pet families together,” Thompson added.
SDHS currently has a $50 adoption fee promotion for adult dogs and cats through October 15. Additionally, the shelter is always looking for more people willing to foster.