Barking can be heard from every corner of the Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter.

For Charlie, the barking was in celebration of reuniting with his family.

“We got Charlie chipped today,” Shannon Everett said, who reclaimed Charlie as his owner. “We are very grateful to Madison County animal shelter for what they’ve done for us today.”

But many other dogs at MOAS aren’t as lucky.

The shelter in Danielsville recently had 56 dogs in 24 runs, and shelter director Erica Hendrix said they’re at capacity.

“From what I have been told, this year has been the worst for a lot of shelters,” Hendrix said.

MOAS takes in a lot of stray animals in particular because open farmland surrounds the shelter. Since they are open-intake, they can’t turn away any animals — even if they are out of space.

“We’ve asked for our community to step up if they have any room in their home, to foster and get some of these dogs out until they can be rescued or adopted,” she said. 

Hendrix said while they don’t want to euthanize, they don’t have a choice when there is no space left.

Each animal adopted, fostered or reclaimed by someone frees up a space for another to come in.

“They’re saving lives,” she said. “They’re not only saving the lives of the dog they adopt, but also the one who can come in.”

See the adoptable animals on the MOAS website.

Rachel Branning and Julianna Washburn are fourth-year journalism majors at the University of Georgia.