FRANKLIN — The Franklin Animal Shelter will cease operations and dissolve the charitable organization known as Granite State Animal League. President Jennifer Ach said while she’s not normally an emotional person, this is a tough time for her and the members of the board. She appreciates all the help the shelter has received from the community for over 20 years.

“Franklin Animal Shelter would like to note, at this time, the utmost gratitude to the community for its historic and unprecedented kindness and generosity, not only to the animals of Franklin and surrounding communities, but to each other and the community as a whole,” Ach said. “This is a very sad time.”

The closure of the shelter is related to financial constraints. Before operations cease permanently, the shelter is attempting to place all remaining animals with families. There is no specific closing date at this time.

The shelter has waived all fees on adoptions. They will promote the animals on social media and at franklinanimalshelter.com. Two dogs, a bluetick coonhound mix named Merlin, and Koda, a terrier and American pitbull mix, are ready to join a home. The shelter is still assessing the needs of other animals, and volunteers plan to post their information soon. The shelter is currently open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday. The shelter has arranged with the New Hampshire Humane Society in Laconia, which will take any animals not adopted by the time the shelter closes.

“The animal shelter will cease operations when the remaining animals have the most reasonable disposition, meaning that they have a place to go, or the appropriate outcome is found for them,” she said.

Ach also ensured anyone interested in adopting a pet must go through the same vetting process as before, to ensure a pet’s safety and make sure they end up in the right home.

The N.H. Humane Society is assisting the Franklin Animal Shelter as they finish the final steps toward closure. N.H. Humane Society Executive Director Charles Stanton explained his organization offers the same services as the Franklin Animal Shelter, and more, to 19 other municipalities. They are one of the closest shelters to Franklin, which is why the Franklin shelter reached out for their assistance.

“The agreement, as of right now, is that we will help in what ways we can. We just don’t know what that looks like just yet, because this has just happened,” Stanton said. “I have been in touch with the chief of police in Franklin, and he and I are working on a short-term plan to make sure that the community gets what it needs.”

The closure of the Franklin shelter came as a surprise for many in the city, including Mayor Desiree McLaughlin. She attended the most recent board meeting on Jan. 23 and said there wasn’t anything that indicated financial distress. She laid out, based on the notes she took, how the meeting went.

First were elections, and Ach was elected president. The financial report was approved despite comments on significant vet bills, and there were even discussions on expanding their kennels.

“There wasn’t even a discussion or a motion saying they may need more funds,” McLaughlin said. “Perhaps that was after the meeting.”

The City of Franklin’s 2025 budget shows the animal shelter received $25,000 from the city, $5,000 more than last year’s budget. McLaughlin said it was increased after a request by the shelter. According to shelter’s 2023 tax form 990, as available on ProPublica, they recorded a negative net income. Ach spoke briefly about what led to their financial circumstance.

“Most small communities don’t actually have a local shelter that’s not supported by a larger network. Franklin Animal Shelter has faced a rising cost in veterinary care and other animal care costs, which may be reflective of the rising costs that we all see today,” she said. “That can also impact giving. And the majority of funds come from public support.”

McLaughlin said the shelter has a memorandum of understanding with the city as a private-public partnership. But she said she had recently formed an ad-hoc committee to update the MOUs the city is engaged in and to create policy that keeps partner organizations reporting their circumstances to the city.

“I went to that meeting, and there was zero indication that this was going to happen. Who knows if there was a catastrophic event, but nobody’s reporting to us,” McLaughlin said. “But if we had a policy that said, ‘If you suffer a catastrophic event, please notify us immediately before dissolution; let’s have a conversation,’ that’s all it is. I’m trying to open up some policy for communication.”

At this time, there is no indication the Franklin Animal Shelter will reopen, or if another local group will take its place. After the dissolution of the shelter, the N.H. Humane Society intends to add Franklin into its coverage area. They offer services like low- or no-cost microchip and vaccine clinics, low- or no-cost spay and neuter programs, a free community pet pantry with food and supplies courtesy of chewy.com and Humane Society of the United States, as well as numerous educational and community programs. N.H. Humane Society also provides temporary housing and care for lost and abandoned pets in partnership with police departments. Stanton said his organization will be there for the Franklin residents during the transition.

“We may be the permanent solution, but we at least want to make sure that the community has what it needs in the meantime, whether we’re the long-term solution or not,” he said.

Stanton said many shelters are struggling to keep up with demand, and the Franklin shelter closing is part of a larger trend. According to the Shelters Animal Count of 2024, almost 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues nationwide. While this is down 1% from 2023, only 5.2 million cats and dogs had a community live outcome, excluding transfers. This includes adoption and being returned to the owner. Stanton thinks decisions shelters make have been politicized, making it hard for shelter employees and volunteers to do their job without scrutiny.

“We are seeing a lot of strain on, particularly a lot of small shelters that are struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “They’re struggling to not only raise money, but also just navigate in the current climate.”

Despite its closing, Stanton emphasized he doesn’t believe the Franklin Animal Shelter was at fault. He said they are part of an unfortunate trend across the country, and should be proud of the work they have done for over 20 years.

“Hopefully the folks with Franklin Animal Shelter, they’re proud of the work that they’ve done. The board has done very good work, particularly in the last couple of years, at building the organization,” he said. “They’ve partnered with the community in showing that Franklin is a city that loves its animals, and so that’s very positive, whether the shelter is physically there or not. That is part of the culture.”