Pet-owners seeking to surrender their animals to the Edmonton Human Society (EHS) will have to look somewhere else, for now.
For the first time in the agency's 106-year history animals are being turned away, reports the Edmonton Sun.
“At this point in time, we’re telling people who are walking in the doors that we do not have the capacity to care for their pets,” CEO Stephanie McDonald told the Sun.
“The animals already in our care have stretched us to our limit."
According to CBC News, EHS has reached full capacity with homeless and abused animals, as well as surrendered pets.
Spokesman Travis Grant told the CBC there's been an increase in the number of animals coming into the shelter and for now they have to close their doors.
"We want to be able to provide all the animals in our care with the highest level of care and enrichment," he said.
"And when we have lots of puppies and kittens, they can be placed in kennels together – but at the moment we have all of these adult animals who require more space."
According to the Edmonton Journal the shelter is currently housing 644 animals. And while they have capacity for up to 750, it's the large number of adult animals that are posing a challenge, as adult animals require more space.
The facility is so full, McDonald told the Journal, that a ferret is caged in the same room as several large snakes.
There are also hundreds of cats and kittens waiting for adoption, as well as 100 additional cats being cared for in foster homes.
“We are trying to prevent cage craziness,” McDonald told the Journal, adding that some of the animals are prone to stress brought on by all the noise and activity .
And because the shelter does not euthanize its animals, the doors will remain closed until animals are adopted and more space becomes available, EHS told the Calgary Sun.
However, it appears the community is stepping in to help. EHS tweeted Wednesday afternoon their website went down after scores of people visited to check out adoptable animals.
EHS told the CBC the shelter will take names and phone numbers of those looking to surrender their pets and let them know when space becomes available.
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