While there is some fluctuation from day to day, Hot Springs Animal Services has been at or near capacity for more than a month.
Several times in December, animals that were adopted were later returned a few days later, and Coordinator Faith Wetzler emphasized the importance of remembering the 3-3-3 rule.
"You can't adopt a dog on the 19th and bring it back on the 26th and say you worked with the dog and tried training it: 'It's just not working out,'" Wetzler said. "That's not giving the dog time. I mean, the 3-3-3 rule is huge. (For) three days that dog just needs to just decompress. Let them just search your home, find their happy spot, get them a kennel, so that's their little domain. Kennel training's a huge part.
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"And then three weeks, they really start settling in because they're learning you, too. So they're like, 'OK, I'm liking you more and more. I'm trusting you more and more,' and they're getting more comfortable. But by the time they hit three months, they're like, 'This is hog heaven. This is my home, and this is where I will spend the rest of my life,'" she said.
While some animals manage to adjust more quickly than others, a cat or dog often has some trepidation when it comes to moving into a new home.
"Dogs are just as scared as we are when they meet someone new sometimes," Wetzler said. "They don't know you. They don't know your habits, and so a lot of people give up on them quickly. And that's what we're trying to prevent -- returns, trying to educate people on that, and some people just have more patience than others."
In the final days of the year, one officer brought in five dogs from one location, Wetzler said.
Hot Springs Animal Services Coordinator Faith Wetzler discusses the kennel population at the facility recently. The facility has been at or near capacity for more than a month. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)"It's constant, and that's why we utilize social media as much as we can and go live and show people, 'Look, this is what's happening here,'" she said. "We're not the answer to people's unwanted litters and unwanted dogs, just because they chew up stuff or whatever. We're not the answer. Put effort into them, train them and spay and neuter. So, it's definitely ongoing."
Lt. LeeAnn Zaner, the director of Animal Services, said Tuesday there are plans to have extended hours at some point this month, but a date has not been set.
Adoptions are available from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, but sometimes exceptions can be made, Wetzler said.
"If someone says, 'I get off at 5 (p.m.), and I can be there about 5:15 or 5:20 (p.m.),'" she said. "It has to be reasonable. ... We've said it several times live. Nobody calls us and says, 'Hey, I'm going to get off at five. I'll be there.'"
Animal Services will be closed on Jan. 15 for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Zaner said.