Maui Humane Society is urgently requesting the community’s help to provide homes and relief for dogs as its shelter population has surged.

High surrender and stay intake rates have led to kennels being over capacity, the shelter said in a news release Thursday.

Maui Humane Society has kennel capacity for 40 dogs, but the shelter is currently caring for 67, not including the 32 currently in foster homes.

“We need people to relieve dogs from the stressors of the shelter, but we’re also advising the public to avoid bringing in strays or surrenders, if it’s not an emergency,” said Katie Shannon, director of marketing. “We are full and over capacity. We need the community to understand that the shelter should be the last option for the animal.”

Anyone who finds a stray animal should file a found report on the shelter’s website, notify the humane enforcement officers and hold on to the animal if it is safe in their home.

With the high population, the shelter has a program called “SOS Foster,” which allows anyone to foster an animal without previous experience while receiving the necessary supplies.

All dogs on the humane society’s website are available for the SOS Foster program and can be viewed at www.mauihumanesociety.org/pet-adoption/pets-for-adoption.

The Maui Humane Society is located off of Maui Veterans Highway and is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.