TIFTON — Too many births and a tough economy are filling the pens at the Tifton-Tift County Animal Shelter.

“People can’t afford to take their pets to the vet or to feed them,” said Regenia Wells, the shelter’s director. “People who have lost their jobs are turning them in.”

Wells said a woman recently brought in a dachshund she had owned for 12 years because the dog had heartworms and she couldn’t afford to take it to the veterinarian to be treated.

During May, animal control officers here picked up 330 dogs and cats. Of those, 22 dogs and one cat were adopted, Wells said. Owners claimed 16 dogs and 11 cats during May.

“We have a rescue that takes some of the young kittens and has them spayed or neutered and then finds them homes,” Wells said.

From July 1, 2008 through May of this year, Wells and three other officers picked up 3,382 cats and dogs and answered 5,058 calls for assistance with everything from cats stuck in traps, dogs barking and cows in the road.

Animal control officers are also called to the scene of wrecks and other law enforcement events. Wells’ acquired her pet, Sherman, a Staffordshire bull terrier, after being called by law enforcement to a drug bust. Sherman was one of seven dogs at the scene and was not healthy.

“He was about dead,” Wells said. “They had been fighting him.”

Wells took the dog to be treated for his wounds and he’s been hers ever since.

Animal control officers also go to the scene of wrecks and take care of the pets. Wells recalled how there was a serious wreck on I-75 and the woman involved had two pugs. Law enforcement officers couldn’t find the dogs for the owner, so animal control officers went to the scene and were able to locate the dogs.

“We went out there and they were standing up against a fence,” Wells said. “We got them cleaned up and he was able to come and pick them up when he got out of the hospital.”

In another case, animal control officers arrived at the scene to find a deputy holding two Chihuahuas.

“We put them in the cab of the truck and then went to the hospital and told the woman her pets were OK,” Wells said.

There is no charge to pet owners for the service, Wells said, but in the cases of DUIs and other criminal activity, there is a charge for the sheltering pets. There are dogs owned by habitual violators who know all of the animal control officers and the officers know them by name.

Once, Wells and other animal control officers discovered 81 cats in a house that was later condemned.