Pets at Chicago Heights’ South Suburban Humane Society wait to be adopted as shelters become overcrowded

Animal shelters across Chicagoland — and the country — are overcrowded, with some shelters seeing more returns and lower adoption numbers than usual. At Chicago Heights’ South Suburban Humane Society, CEO Emily Klehm said her shelter has been so crowded they’ve been close to “putting a dog in the bathroom,” in order to make space.

South Suburban Humane Society is a managed-admission shelter, which means admissions are scheduled to match up the flow of animals entering and leaving the building. Even so, Klehm notes the shelter has been at or over capacity since the spring, and its adoption rates have dipped lower than 2019′s rates.