The Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter has been at capacity for cats for a while. Now the number of dogs is reaching that limit as well.

Shelter Director Shannon Posada said they currently have about 75 dogs, the largest number they have had in several years.

“They come in for various reasons,” Posada said about the animals they accept into the shelter. “[Thursday] morning, a mom and five kittens were in a small crate left out at the gate.”

She said the shelter regularly accepts animals beyond what they normally would due to a variety of emergency factors, such as holding a dog who got loose at the Appalachian Trail, or, more recently, holding abused animals as their owners go through court, such as accused Ryan Garland.

“It all adds up,” she said. “We are at maximum capacity.”

Despite this, Posada said they think long-term about the animals in their care, and due to the community’s need, she said she and her team try every trick in the book to hold as many animals as they need, from separating cages to double the space to even holding some of the smaller dogs and cats in the main office.

“The workload never stops,” she said. “The staff has never given up. They continue to care for these animals.”

Posada said the shelter does not just want to adopt all the animals away without due care; it is not just a spreadsheet game.

“We adopt to anyone who meets the qualifications for the animal,” she said.

For example, if a cat lacks human interaction and is afraid of animals, the shelter will not adopt that cat to a home with a pitbull.

“We want the best fit for the animal and the adopter,” Posada said.

She said the shelter does everything it can to treat the animals of Carter County, despite its low staff numbers and higher workloads.

“We want the community to know we are here for the best interests of these animals,” Posada said.

For those looking to volunteer at or donate to the shelter, their number is 423-547-6359. The shelter is located at 135 Sycamore Shoals Drive in Elizabethton.

“We want the community to be proud of [and involved with] the shelter,” Posada said. “We can never have enough help.”