By Lizette Salto
@redlineproject
In the last five years, there has been an 85% spike in stray dogs being captured or surrendered to adoption centers in the Chicago area, mostly due to lack of economic resources. Overpopulation in shelters has been an ongoing crisis that has plagued Chicago for many years, and continues to get worse, unless something is done to combat the issue soon.
According to the 2025 Chicago Animal Care and Control statistics, there were 5,007 stray dogs taken into adoption centers all over the city. From these intakes, only about 1,325 of the dogs were adopted. Although the number of adoptions has been increasing throughout the last five years, it is still not a sufficient amount to keep adoption shelters from overflooding. Many more thousands of dogs remained and continue to remain, and many never got to make it out of the shelter because of it.
Unfortunately, the City of Chicago reported that in 2025, 1,375 people requested euthanasia for their surrendered dogs in the adoption centers. Of those requests, 1,278 went through.
Aside from owner requests, there were also euthanasia cases by the adoption centers that depend on the dog’s behavior, health, and capacity for care. Euthanasia by shelters has also seen a rapid increase from previous years, mostly due to overcrowded shelters and lack of space. This past year alone, the total of euthanasia cases added up to 2,794.
According to NBC News, the increasing number of pets in shelters is because many pet owners are struggling to afford a pet. Many are barely surviving, paying for their own expenses with today’s cost of living, so owning a pet has just become another increasing expense.
So what can be done?
According to the Best Friends Animal Society, adopting a dog rather than buying saves their lives and isolate dogs from the horrors of euthanasia in overcrowded shelters. It also gives dogs the opportunity to get a second chance at loving and being loved by a caring family. And those who are struggling in Chicago to afford their dogs can use the free vaccine clinics and seek free pet food resources to avoid surrendering their dogs to shelters.
