BACK MOUNTAIN, Pa. — It's loud in the kennel area at Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge near Dallas.
Volunteers here say animal surrenders went up as the pandemic winds down and it's lead to full kennels, among other problems at the shelter.
"The biggest issue is people not telling the truth about their animal," said senior volunteer Emma Ripka. "It doesn't matter if it's dog or cat, people will not tell the truth about their vet status, behavioral issues, and in the end, that really just hurts the animal because we adopt them out with the information we're given."
So now the farm is changing the way it handles things. If you want to surrender an animal, you're going to have to fill out a form online.
"If it's a personal surrender, we have to be more stricter with, with it because of our space and our volunteers and just the safety of the animals," added Ripka.
Folks at Blue Chip tell Newswatch 16 the biggest reason why they've switched personal surrenders to online forms only is because of timing.
"We just put it online now so that we have a few days to decide if we can take the animal. We have time to contact the vet to make sure that everything you told us was true," said Ripka.
The only animals Blue Chip will take in without this online form are strays and animals in emergency situations.
"Definitely want to try and help as many as we can. We just need the people to be more proactive on there and responsible for their animals," explained Ripka. "So if they can't keep the animal anymore, they have to be the ones that reach out to us and know that they can't wait to the last second, or else they're not going to be able to find help."
Volunteers say this serves as a reminder for anyone looking to adopt.
"These animals have already been given up on numerous times by humans, and it gets to a point where an animal can only take so much so if you are looking to adopt you have to commit and you have to know that animal is lifetime commitment," added Ripka.
If you want to learn more about Blue Chip, you can visit its website by clicking here.