AIKEN --- A black pit bull mix lay on her side inside a kennel at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, her seven puppies busy nursing.

"She was brought to the shelter this morning with her litter," said Bobby Arthurs, the facility's chief enforcement officer.

But the shelter's newest puppies and nursing mother aren't the only ones in residence.

In the last month, the county shelter on Wire Road has been inundated with litters of puppies, illustrating the need for owners to have their pets spayed or neutered.

Sterilizing pets can be costly, especially if a family has more than one, but it's the best method for reducing the number of unwanted animals that end up in the shelter each year.

Since March, the county has been helping low-income families with the cost of spaying or neutering their pets through a subsidized sterilization program.

The county council allocated $30,000 to fund the spay and neuter program, and it is proving to be popular.

In November, the shelter received vouchers from local vets for 141 surgeries, Mr. Arthurs said.

Residents who receive a voucher can go to any veterinarian who accepts them. The vouchers are worth up to $80 for sterilization of a dog and up to $55 for sterilization of a cat. Fees vary depending on gender.

Three cages down from the pit bull mix and her puppies is a cage holding a black and gray hound mix and eight nursing puppies.

"They're just really cute," Mr. Arthurs said as he reached in the cage and scooped up one of the puppies. The mother was a pregnant stray that was brought in. The puppies were born in the shelter.

On the other side of the shelter are more puppies. Four newborns that were brought in without their mother nurse from a pit bull that treats the pups as her own.

Up front, ready for adoption, are 10 puppies that were brought in by their owner, who couldn't take care of so many.

Having so many puppies poses a problem for the already overcrowded facility, especially if more litters are brought in.

Puppies can't be adopted out right away, especially newborns. They have to be weened from their mother, which doesn't start happening until they're about 6 weeks old.

Once the puppies are weened, they'll be placed in the front kennels for adoption. They'll have at least a month to be placed with a family.

"Then we have to make a tough decision" about whether to euthanize, Mr. Arthurs said.

Still holding one of the wriggling puppies that was crying for its mother, the animal control officer said, "I cannot stress enough the importance of the spay and neuter program that we have to offer to the citizens of Aiken County."

"We can do all we can here, but it's up to the citizens to reduce euthanasias," he said.

Those who qualify for the program are residents of Aiken County who fall within income guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For more information, call the shelter at (803) 642-1537.

Reach Michelle Guffey at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or michelle.guffey@augustachronicle.com.