Marlene Moore echoed the refrain from the closing moments of each episode of The Price is Right, "Spay and neuter your pets."
The Estevan Humane Society is bursting at the seams with cats and dogs, and it isn't a new phenomenon. Moore, the humane society's president, said they've been at full capacity since about June.
The organization is now asking people to house stray animals they find for a couple of weeks, in the hopes that more space opens up at the shelter.
"At one point it's good because we had very few dogs last winter," said Moore, noting they never had more than about seven. "What has happened is that people are coming to Estevan, and they can't find a place to live, let alone keep their dog, and some of them just let them go."
She said they had 40 kittens at one point, and they are still dealing with an overload of kittens.
Moore made it clear the shelter is right full, saying they have kittens running all over the place.
"Some of them, the manager Judy Martin, has nursed from about two or three days after birth. She had three little ones come in like that. She fed them from a bottle and they're up running around now."
Moore said they are asking people who find a stray cat or dog to shelter it for a few weeks if they can.
"If they can look after them for a bit, that would be a big plus for us."
She noted they have a few dogs that have been in the shelter since the summer and hope that soon they could be adopted.
"I've only been with the humane society for four years, and over the summertime you always get a lot of kittens coming in, but we've never had it this full. Not in my duration with the shelter. If people would spay and neuter their pets, we wouldn't have this problem," she added.
She also said staffing at the shelter is a big problem they are dealing with. They are always looking for more.
"We have a really tough time getting good staff that stay and are reliable. For anybody that's interested in coming down for the weekends," she asks them to contact the shelter.
Interested people would be taken through the rooms and shown what to do, which includes cleaning the dishes and sterilizing them each day, as well as cleaning out the litter.
"Anybody that can help do that on the weekend would be a huge help."
Moore noted they do pay all their employees. Those interested in working at the shelter may contact the humane society at 634-3444.
