NORTH BAY – The North Bay and District Humane Society is seeing an increase in the number of animals being brought to the shelter ever since waiving its surrender fee.

The Humane Society dropped the fee last month for their service jurisdictions only to encourage pet owners not to dump their animals anywhere and call them to see if a spot is available.

Currently, the Humane Society has nearly 100 cats in the building and also almost 40 dogs in the shelter.

With as many animals as it is seeing at this time, staff members remain confident they can keep the flow of adoptions going so new animals brought in will have a place to stay.

"We have to be very, very mindful of what is walking through that door so we can care for it properly. We have three cat rooms that were actually people's offices, so we have taken upon ourselves to relocate those people," says Janet Bredin, North Bay & District Human Society Shelter Manager.

The Human Society says it's getting calls from outlying areas like Mattawa to the east and Sudbury to the west, but they don't have the space to take in every animal.

Staff members are asking people to call their local humane society instead.