ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Humane Society is bringing more dogs to its St. Louis shelters from around Missouri and other states.

The group’s Shelter Pet Transfer Program welcomes adoptable pets, mostly dogs, from other places with overcrowded shelters or few spay and neuter programs, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The dogs often are transferred from Missouri cities including Joplin, Sikeston and Waynesville. But St. Louis shelters also have accepted dogs from Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Arizona, Florida and Texas.

Nearly 25 new dogs from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Caddo Parish, Louisiana, arrived this week at Humane Society of Missouri shelters in the St. Louis area.

“We do not have enough dogs and puppies right now to satisfy demand,” said Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri.

The group has seen a dramatic reduction of its local animal intake recently. It’s partly due to the society’s work to promote spaying and neutering, Warnick said.

The organization was able to ramp up efforts to transport animals from farther locations this year through a $130,000 donation from the Women’s Leadership Council at the Humane Society of Missouri. The group hired another employee and purchased an extra vehicle to pick up animals.

The pet transfer program has helped about 7,000 dogs from outside St. Louis find homes in or around the city, Warnick said.

“There has been a societal trend toward adoption of shelter animals, and it has become much more fashionable to adopt a rescue animal versus going to another source for your next pet,” Warnick said. “And as a result, the demand for shelter animals has been increasing.”