ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For some dogs, animal shelters are the best homes they’ve ever known.

"Shelters have been experiencing overcrowding for a little while now, we’re seeing it actually even nationally," said Vicky Pape, director of animal placement at Lollypop Farm.

But for stray dogs like Laverne and Shirley, the shelter has made them ready for adoption.

What You Need To Know

  • Animal shelters across the state continue to face a population overload

  • 120 dogs were confiscated from a home in Rochester earlier this month and brought to the Humane Society of Greater Rochester

  • When charges are filed, shelters see an influx of animals at one time

Part of the reason shelters experience overcrowding is due to mass seizures of animals from a single location. Approximately 120 dogs were seized from a Rochester home earlier this month.

"I can say that we have been seeing an increase in cases like this where we get a large amount of animals from one situation," Pape said. "I don’t have an explanation as to why. I wish I did, because that would be the first step in trying to solve the problem."

When the Humane Society receives a call about potential animal abuse, it needs a search warrant to investigate.

"The search warrant allows us to seize these animals to determine whether or not they’ve been abused or neglected, and once we make that determination, we file charges," said Reno Di Domenico, vice president of law enforcement at the Humane Society of Greater Rochester.

And when charges are filed, shelters see an influx of animals at one time, all they can do is try to help.

"They still all go see our clinic and are reviewed and checked out with our behavior team, so care for them is a lot, but we still make sure that every animal is getting the care they need as just if they come in as one single animal," said Pape.