Staff and volunteers at the Humane Society are used to finding dumped dogs and cats on the shelter’s front stoop. Its neighbors say they'll never get accustomed to that kind of neglect.

The shelter is full of dogs and cats that have been dumped. Some were near death when they were found.

“People come by when we're closed, and they think it will cost money, so they dump it in the parking lot,” said Lesly Thurman of the Humane Society.

It's taxing workers at the shelter and neighbors just a few blocks away.

“They like to have dogs but find out after they get them that they can't afford them, so they look for a convenient place to dump them and we have that convenient place out here,” said Ed Williams.

Between Williams and his neighbor, Mike O’Guinn, they've taken in nearly a dozen dumped dogs.

The problem is the Humane Society’s shelter is full and people are unwilling to wait just a couple of weeks for a space to open, so they end up in the neighborhood instead.

“I believe I've done my fair share. I have eight dogs, seven I have rescued,” said O’Guinn.

“It's just the perpetuation of a long term problem,” said Clay Goddard, assistant director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, which includes Animal Control.

Springfield Animal Control will take dogs from people who live in Springfield and many other areas of Greene County but Goddard says many don't know or don't care about their options.

“You can turn an animal in and we'll try to find a home for it through a rescue partner,” he said.

While there's no fee to take a pet to Animal Control or the Humane Society, O’Guinn and Williams worry it will take an act of force to make some people act responsibly -- like the woman they caught red handed dumping a dog just this week.

“I'd like the sheriff's department to do something about it; make an example of her and word will get around and others will think twice.”

The Humane Society is getting ready to open a new, bigger facility in just a few weeks. When that happens, it expect wait times for drop-off appointments to drop dramatically.