Ulster County SPCA celebrates Howl-O-Ween despite experiencing critical capacity

Asher, a two-year-old chihuahua owned by Abbey Frankel of Pleasant Valley, and Penny, a two-year-old Shih Tzu owned by Anne Wojewoda of Poughkeepsie, are Thing 1 and Thing 2 from the story Cat in the Hat. (Photos by Phyllis McCabe)

The Ulster County SPCA’s annual Howl-O-Ween event took place on Saturday, October 21 at its shelter on Wiedy Drive in Kingston. For a $5 donation, people had a photo taken of their pet in a Halloween costume by a professional photographer.

Mariah is a THREE-year-old short-haired shelter tabby, who has a big heart for pumpkins.

Presently, the shelter is experiencing critical capacity for housing animals due to a housing crisis in the community. The kennel, which has space for 25 dogs and 70 cats, is currently caring for 61 dogs and 100 cats, with some at the shelter and others in foster care. That puts the shelter at 244% capacity for dogs and 140% capacity for cats. All the kennels are occupied. The SPCA does not euthanize to make space and are being forced to turn away community members needing to surrender their cats or dogs.

For further information, contact the Ulster County SPCA at http://www.ucspca.org or (845) 331-5377.