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Animal shelters full of dogs after Fourth of July

Rock Island County’s animal shelter busier than usual after a firework packed weekend. The Humane Society of the United States says shelters across the n...

MOLINE, Illinois — Rock Island County's animal shelter is busier than usual after a firework-packed weekend. The Humane Society of the United States says shelters across the nation see a dramatic increase in lost pets during the holiday.

"We know with the fireworks, with people bringing their animals outside that there will be an increase in animals coming in," said Samantha Deyoung, Operations Manager of Rock Island Animal Care and Control.

From July 1 through July 5, 26 dogs arrived to the county's shelter from all over Rock Island. Usually it's police officers, after shelter hours, who drop off the dogs.

"So this is where all the dogs come in," said Deyoung, as she walked across the concrete aisle between two lines of kennels. Over twenty dogs occupied the "incoming room."

"A good portion of the dogs came in from Saturday to today," said Deyoung.

All but three of the 27 incoming kennels at the shelter are vacant.

"The Fourth of July weekend is always our busiest weekend, I think most shelters will tell you that. Before the weekend, before the holiday comes on, whether it's a weekend or not, we try to make room on our incoming side."

To get the dogs home, the staff works the phones.

"We're definitely looking for owners of the dogs, we want the owners of the dogs to come in and claim their dog, we want their dog to go home," said Deyoung.

The dogs are kept in the incoming kennels for 7 days, before the shelter considers other options.

"From there we determine if they're adoptable, if they're adoptable we move them to the adoption floor," said Deyoung.

She says the best way to bring your pet home, is to make sure they're wearing a collar, or better yet, has a microchip.

"Microchips are huge, and I know all the shelters pretty much offer micro-chipping. It's definitely worth, whatever the cost is, to get your dog micro-chipped so we get it back home to you," said Deyoung.

At least eight of the 26 dogs from over the weekend have been reunited with their families. The Rock Island Animal Care and Control center charges $15.00 for micro-chipping.

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