St Pölten shelter seeks funding for hard-to-rehome dogs

Up to 20 dogs at the St Pölten animal shelter may be difficult or impossible to rehome, prompting its operator to call for more funding or extra accommodation. ORF reported that some dogs stay at the shelter for years.

The shelter currently houses about 150 animals and cares for around 1,000 over the course of a year. More than 600 are placed in new homes annually. The shelter generally considers a stay of one to two years to be long-term.

One long-term resident is Shadow, a nine-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier and Malinois mix. He first came to the shelter in 2019 and was adopted, but returned in 2023 after a change in circumstances. He has been waiting for a new home since then. Shelter director Viktoria Bischof said dogs that stay for a long time need particular attention, care and training. Shadow, for example, struggles with the noise and activity at the shelter.

The St Pölten animal welfare association says official seizures of animals are placing increasing pressure on the shelter. It says more than 100 such cases occur in St Pölten each year. Animal hoarding cases can also require shelters to take in many animals at once.

Association chairman Thomas Kainz said some dogs considered to pose a higher risk cannot be rehomed even after training and rehabilitation. When a dog stays for years, a kennel remains occupied and extra care is required, reducing the number of new animals the shelter can accept. “Our resources are limited, and our space is restricted,” he said.

Andrea Specht, president of the Lower Austrian Animal Welfare Competence Centre and Association, said St Pölten was particularly affected. She suggested that more seizures may be taking place because newly appointed veterinary officers were more active in identifying animal welfare concerns. Their work had left the St Pölten shelter “packed”, she said.

However, Specht said the association had not identified a general rise in long-term stays at shelters across Lower Austria. Krems, for example, had not seen a corresponding increase.

The Lower Austrian Animal Welfare Competence Centre and Association wants more places for hard-to-rehome dogs, such as a sanctuary where around 15 to 20 animals could be cared for in a quieter setting and potentially prepared for rehoming. The St Pölten association is also seeking support from the state, proposing either higher funding for existing shelters or a dedicated sanctuary for dogs that are particularly difficult or impossible to rehome.

Kainz said public funding and support currently cover about half of the association’s costs, with donations helping to fund the rest. Without significantly more money, he said, the shelter may not be able to maintain its current level of care over the medium term.

Lower Austria increased annual funding for eight animal shelters and the state animal welfare association to about three million euros in 2024, citing rising costs and more stray and seized animals. But state councillor Susanne Rosenkranz, who is responsible for animal welfare, rejected the St Pölten association’s latest requests.

Tags: animal welfare, St Pölten, animal shelters