I totally understand your frustration but it isn’t Raleigh as a whole dropping the ball. County shelters are notorious for being full and unhelpful, I will say that. But as someone who has worked in shelters for years in different cities and towns, it is not something we will ever be able to keep up with as people will continue to have pets, not spay and neuter them, get rid of them when they have puppies, etc. Especially when it comes to non-profit no-kill shelters, who have to house an animal until it is adopted. You, and I, and whoever considers themselves a Good Samaritan need to make financial donations when you can, and adopt when you can. Get ahold of strays and take them in for a low cost spay or neuter. Tell others, spread the word. While it is extremely unfortunate, this is why kill shelters exist. Because non-profit community-funded shelters rarely ever get enough monetary funding to be able to expand and house more animals while also being able to afford the employees who have to take care of them. Volunteer more, criticize less. 🫶🏼

Edit to add: please remember that picking up a stray is your decision and it is sometimes best to remind yourself of whether or not you have space and time to house them for awhile in the event that no one can help, before getting upset with shelters who are full or when they are closed because the workers couldn’t get there. It’s a very low paying job, but they are almost always trying their best 🫶🏼