Tom Connors drove into the Carbon County Animal Shelter early Sunday morning as the snowstorm started to bear down on the region.

The roads to the county complex in Nesquehoning weren’t the greatest, he said, but at least no one was on them.

And he wasn’t planning on heading back out anytime soon.

Connors, the shelter director, packed a bag and planned to stay with the 18 dogs housed at the kennel throughout the storm to make sure they’re cared for, and ensure no other employees had to venture out.

He did have some help on Sunday. One volunteer came in to help walk the dogs, and so did one of the workers for a few hours before being sent home.

Connors kept busy, shoveling an area outside for the dogs about every 40 minutes to keep up with snow that fell at a rate of more than an inch an hour at times.

The no-kill shelter has been at full capacity for about three months or more, Connors said.

“It’s very hard, because it gets very stressful when there’s more dogs than kennels. It just makes it nonstop for the workers and the volunteers that help us,” he said.

The shelter isn’t able to take in any dogs at this time, unless it’s an emergency and police contact them, Connors said.

But the shelter can’t take dogs from people who want or need to rehome their dogs, he said. The shelter asks them to hold the dog and works with them on finding a home without coming to the shelter instead, Connors said.

“We still pick up stray dogs, but we don’t take in dogs where people are trying to rehome, because we just don’t have the room,” he said.

Connors has also seen a few people abandon their dogs this year and no one comes to claim the dog, he said.

But also had a few recently where he came out to pick up a stray — and the owner claimed them the next day, he said.

The shelter also worked with a young man who was homeless but didn’t want to part with his dog to go into the warming station overnight, he said.

“He wasn’t going to leave his dog anywhere,” Connors said. “But we convinced him to let me watch it overnight and he could stay warm. The dog ended up staying here two days.”

The young man found a job and a place to stay and came back to thank shelter employees for their kindness and understanding in that situation, he said.

“He has an apartment where he could keep his dog, and he appreciated the help,” Connors said. “So that was nice to be able to do that.”

With the shelter full, dogs that do come in as strays must stay in crates inside the reception area, he explained.

“We have no place to put them,” Connors said.

The shelter has been finding dogs homes, and is seeing adoptions, but more dogs come in and fill those open kennels, he said.

For now, people who pick up a stray dog must plan on keeping the animal until the owner is found, or the shelter has space, Connors said. They are legally responsible for dogs that they pick up, he said.

Connors is hoping that people will take advantage of the annual February promotion, Love a Dog for Life Month, where the county approves half-price adoptions throughout the month.

Adoptions drop to $50 during the month, and it’s usually one of the shelter’s best months in successfully finding homes for its dogs.

The shelter is located at 63 Broad St., Nesquehoning, and is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Visitors are welcome after 10 a.m. but should call 570-325-4828 first to ensure staff are available.