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Volunteer Gaila Gale makes friends with Zac, a husky mix in the Jackson County Animal Shelter. Gale says she has more time to spend with individual dogs because of a decline in the shelterís dog population.

In a perfect world, every animal would have a good and loving home. While that's not yet the case, area animal shelters report there is a dearth of dogs available for adoption — and officials hope it's for all the right reasons.

The Jackson County Animal Care and Control shelter in Phoenix has the capacity to care for 150 dogs. Seasonal dips in occupancy are common, and puppies born in the early spring are just starting to show up. But there are only 25 dogs in need of new homes at the county shelter, said Colleen Macuk, executive director.

"We have a lot of empty cages," said Macuk, adding the shelter has about 20 additional dogs in foster care or awaiting pick-up by their owners.

At the Southern Oregon Humane Society on Table Rock Road, the kennels are a little more filled. There are 42 dogs awaiting adoption in a facility with a maximum capacity of about 90 dogs.

Only five of the 63 small dogs brought in from overcrowded shelters in Fresno, Calif., last month are still awaiting a new home, said Bill Templeman, the humane society's executive director.

"We're low, too," Templeman said. "We've noticed the past two years our demand has been more than we'd had available. And we just had a great adoption weekend."

For Huey, a basset hound found wandering in the town of Rogue River, a lot of empty kennel cages at the county shelter simply means volunteers can spend a bit more time with the vocal old boy.

Gaila Gale slips a leash carefully over Huey's long droopy ears as he romps out to the play area. Graying muzzle pointed skyward, Huey bays a greeting to the other dog in the park area — and to anyone else who wanders onto the grass.

"He's quite a talker," said Gale, as she takes Huey on a jogging lap around the yard.

Back inside, a newly spayed Pomeranian nestles in the crook of a volunteers arm like a newborn infant. The tiny buff-colored dog, recently rescued from a puppy mill, looks up with big brown eyes. The dog had never walked before her rescue, volunteers said.

Templeman and Macuk hope the reason area shelters are experiencing large vacancy numbers is because people are acting more responsibly. Perhaps low cost spay-and-neuter clinics are helping control pet populations, suggested Templeman. Or maybe the number of people that had to surrender their dogs due to economic issues has leveled out, said Macuk.

"So many people aren't keeping a dog anymore," she said.

But they also fear other reasons for the low numbers.

In mid-May, Talent Police arrested Robert Allen Fulmer, 54, of Talent, for allegedly killing five 8-week-old large mixed-breed pups which were left in his care. Police also allege David George Phillips, 59, of Central Point, dumped the dead pups at the humane society.

It is important that people who feel they can no longer care surrender them to the shelter, Macuk said.

"This was inhumane and not the way to dispose of unwanted animals," said Macuk. "We want people to know they can come into the shelter and leave their dogs and cats. We will take them."