FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - As many struggle to make ends meet during the government shutdown, pet care has taken a hit.

The Valley Animal Center has had to decrease its intakes by 25% in 2025 because of high costs, but their requests for surrenders have only increased.

“We've seen such a heightened rate of owner surrender requests or people finding financial hardships and looking for other options for their animals,” Ruben Cantu with the Valley Animal Center said.

Rising inflation and insecurity around SNAP benefits have forced many to surrender their pets or avoid adopting new ones.

“We've seen our adoptions this year cut in half,” Cantu said. “Especially for our cat adoption center, where last year, around this time, I had done 600 cat adoptions, I don't even think I've hit 300 thi

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