Recently 30 cats were surrendered to the shelter amid a pending investigation of animal hoarding and neglect in Tupper Lake. Overall, the shelter took in 50 cats in July, according to Lena Bombard, manager and animal-control officer.

“We can house about 70 to 80 cats before it starts to feel like overflow,” she said. “That one hoarding case put us close to 100. Dogs are little different. We have 18 kennel crates, but if there are more dogs, sometimes the smaller dogs will have to share crates.”

The no-kill shelter currently has about 90 cats and 18 dogs, Bombard said.

Bombard said she could not comment on the condition of the cats because they are evidence in the police investigation, but she said cases of animal hoarding are relatively common for the Tri-Lakes Humane Society.

“We get about one or two a year,” she said. “I’ve dealt with a lot of hoarding cases, and they seem to be increasing in the last decade. We’ve dealt with the same situation pretty much every summer. Years ago, I removed 17 dogs from one property on McClelland Street [Saranac Lake].

“I think people buy or adopt a few dogs or cats, but then they don’t spay or neuter the animals,” Lombard continued. “Dogs can get pregnant twice a year, and cats can get pregnant four times in a year. That’s a lot of puppies and kittens.”

Though the influx of cats happened last month, the “Clear the Shelter” campaign comes in response to a recommendation by a team from the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, which visited the Tri-Lakes Humane Society in April to evaluate the shelter’s operation in the context of current best practices in the field of shelter medicine. In a follow-up report, the team called for a dramatic reduction in the Tri-Lakes Humane Society’s animal population in the face of changing trends in the field.

“In the last two decades in animal welfare, we have gained tremendous understanding of the complex psychological and emotional lives of companion animals,” Elizabeth Berliner at Maddie’s Shelter noted in the report. “As animal shelters have moved from a role of stray dog (and sometimes cat) management and population control, their facilities – but more importantly their practices – must adjust to a lifesaving mission that minimizes their length of stay in the shelter and enhances the ability of communities to keep animals out of the shelter.”

The shelter has plenty of animals for which they would like to find homes.

“Kesha is one of our resident dogs who has been here for a long time,” Bombard said in a press release. “We have other animals here who are ready to be adopted and who just need the right family or person to make it work. We hope this event will help us pair potential adopters with many of our longer-term dogs and cats like Kesha.”

Tri-Lakes Humane Society Board President Melinda Little says the event is essential to the shelter’s future.

“This Clear the Shelter event is a key first step in ensuring we are responding to the evolving field of shelter medicine,” she said. “As we evolve and adapt, we remain committed to our mission of speaking for those who cannot and advocating for stray or unwanted companion animals in the Tri-Lakes region.

“But we can’t do it alone. We need help from our communities to decrease our shelter population and are excited for this upcoming push to help us begin to do that.”

The Sept. 1 kickoff event will go from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adoption fees will be dropped to $30 from $80 on average. Microchipping will also be available for $30 and a rabies clinic for $10. Call 518-891-0017 to set up a clinic appointment. For questions about the event, contact Bombard at tlhsny@hotmail.com or 518-891-0017.