Some animals are running out of time at the Morristown Hamblen Humane Society’s shelter on E. Morris Boulevard.

Their conditions are deteriorating due to too much time in a loud, unnatural environment where staff does their best to take care of creatures in a facility that is at capacity and stretched to a breaking point.

They are urging the public to adopt or foster animals before euthanasia is employed to end the suffering of “kennel-crazed” canines and free up much needed room.

“When we get more dogs in than we get out, even the staff, we’re taking dogs home to make room, and it’s difficult,” Kennel Manager Ashley Sauceman said. “Kennel craze is a real thing. They start going from just being the happiest dogs to the most depressed. They won’t get up. They’re falling. They won’t eat. It’s pretty bad. We evaluate everything with these dogs every day. We dog test, we toy test, we food test. They have evaluations.”

Sauceman said all the care they offer just isn’t enough in some cases; she said the dogs need homes and calm environments in which to thrive, and, that often, some dogs are not considered that would make fantastic companions.

“The ones that don’t catch everybody’s eyes are usually the best dogs in the shelter,” she said. “We need the people to help us.”

The dogs currently listed by the shelter as urgently needing homes are Dixie, Zeus, Gusher, Dunkaroo, Tupac, Valentine, Jam, Tahoe, Rein and Buddy. Shelter officials said the dogs have been overlooked for a variety of reasons despite being adoptable and deserving of permanent homes.

And people are what will make a difference, staff say — more volunteers to be hands on deck to help with daily needs and enrichment for the animals, foster folks to take animals home and give them a chance, adopters to reach out and pluck animals out of harm and into a good life and more people to give to make sure animals waiting on companionship have toys, blankets and other needs.

Money has been raised for a building expansion that will offer more capacity, but it won’t be built in time to save some of the animals who are slowly losing themselves in their kennels and staff are hoping the community will respond to their call for help.

Those interested in adopting, volunteering or donating can visit the Morristown- Hamblen Humane Society at 5251 E. Morris Blvd. in Morristown.

The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

The shelter is closed from noon to 1 p.m. daily and is closed Sundays. For more information, call 423-5811494 or email info@mhhumanesociety. com.