The Mahoning County Dog Warden took to social media to tell residents that the shelter is completely full. 

On October 17, the organization posted to Facebook that with no open cages, they are unable to accept dogs that are being surrendered to them, and that they are at full capacity. 

To make room, they are reaching out to other rescues around the Valley to see if they are able to accommodate for the overflow of dogs, and are trying their best to reach out to owners. 

Nine dogs were found on Tuesday, a number that Mahoning County Dog Warden Kennel Supervisor Lisa Hill says is not normal for the organization. They usually take in about four to five dogs a day.

So far this year, the organization has taken in 916 dogs. There are currently about 80 dogs at the shelter. 

"We are trying our best, but we are just out of room," said Hill. 

Hill says while the Covid-19 pandemic has attributed to the increase of animals at the shelter, economic issues are also contributing to the issue. Due to rising costs and inflation, owners can no longer afford to care for their pets. 

Capacity issues are not a new problem for animal shelters and pounds around Mahoning and Trumbull County.

In July of this year, Animal Charity of Ohio in Youngstown were unable to take in several cats from a hoarding situation because the shelter was completely full. 

Animal Charity had to reach out to their shelter partners in Cleveland and Pittsburgh to see if they could take some of the animals off their hands. Unfortunately, both shelters have been struggling with space issues as well. 

In Warren, the Trumbull County Dog Warden and Kennel is working on building a new, bigger facility to accommodate the influx of dogs that are currently in the kennel. 

The Mahoning County Dog Warden is using social media to promote dogs that are available for adoption. On the organization's Facebook, you can see photos of available dogs, learn about their personality traits and history. 

The organization is also encouraging people to foster dogs if they are unable to adopt. They directly partner with All About the Pawz Dog Rescue in Austintown, All Paws are Perfect in Boardman, and Every Dog Matters in Youngstown. 

Those interested in fostering dogs can also request to receive a dog from The Mahoning County Dog Warden from other local rescues in Mahoning County. 

The organization is also encouraging people to put identification tags and microchips on their dogs, so the shelter is able to easily reunite lost dogs with their owners.

They are also reminding owners to spay and neuter their dogs, in an effort to slow down this crisis. 

"If you're looking for a dog, please come see us and fill out an application. We have some very nice dog's here," said Hill. 

Donations can be made at the Mahoning County Dog Warden's office at 1230 North Meridian Road.