The Clayton County animal shelter has extended their hours this weekend after an “overwhelming” response to the AJC’s report on dogs destined to be euthanized on Saturday.

“We are suspending the euthanization until Sunday at 6 p.m.,” Assistant Police Chief Jeff Turner said Friday morning. “The shelter will be opened through the weekend. At 6 p.m. Sunday, the doors will close and unfortunately, we will have to start killing whatever dogs remain.”

The shelter announced plans on Thursday to eliminate more dogs than usual this weekend because workers needed to apply sealant to the kennel floors to prevent parvo. Dogs would be moved to one side of the shelter while work was being done, but it cannot hold the entire current population within half the space.

About 30 dogs were already scheduled to be put down this weekend. Now, 20 more are to be euthanized. And any animals turned in for the next 10 to 12 days will be killed, too, because there’s no room, Turner said. There were no plans to relocate animals to any nearby shelters temporarily, nor did the shelter alert any rescue groups prior to their announcement on Thursday.

If you are already thinking about getting a pet, please consider contacting Clayton County and considering adoption. The shelter will be open today until 5 p.m., and Saturday 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday until 6 p.m. The shelter is located at 1396 Government Circle in Jonesboro. For more information, call 770-477-3509.