Pet of the Week
Hey, what happened to Spring? I sure hope it returns soon. This week, we are not featuring any specific pet for adoption. Instead, I am just sharing some information about some of our fur-kids who travel long distances to their fur-ever homes. Last week, we had a first time experience. A young man flew in from New York to pick up a dog (Maggie) for adoption and flew her back home with him on the plane. People around here are scratching their heads and saying, “Why would someone do that for a little mutt dog?” This is the 4th Rescue Dog this man has adopted from a Shelter and he provides an exceptional home for all of them. Well, the truth is, there are lots of people who are committed to adopting Rescue Animals. In some parts of the country there are very strict laws requiring Spay & Neuter of all pets and breeders being licensed, so it is harder to find Rescue Animals to adopt. Over the past year, we have established relationships with three different organizations that take animals to the east coast or major metropolitan cities for just that purpose. With the help of Pet-finder, our dogs and cats are being adopted all over the United States. We actually had a couple drive all the way from Chicago, IL to adopt a cat. Within the past few months, we have sent four litters of puppies to Puppy Rescues that will transport these pups outside of Arkansas to their adoptive homes. To send an animal to another state requires a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian stating the animal is up to date on their required vaccines, specifically a rabies vaccine if they are over 3 months of age. It is also a requirement in the State of Arkansas that an animal over 3 months of age being adopted from a Shelter, Humane Society, Rescue or Animal Control must be spayed or neutered before being adopted. All of these proper legal requirements cost the shelter but we gladly do it to help these fur-kids find great homes, even if it’s not in Arkansas. For the number of residents in Marion County and our surrounding counties, we have more animals needing homes than can reasonably be adopted. We, like Missouri and Kansas, are known as puppy mill states and have many back yard breeders that contribute to pet overpopulation in the U.S.. I personally find that embarrassing and would like to see an end to the practice, but in the meantime, we take in puppies, vet them, arrange transport and hope for the best. Please, Spay or Neuter your pet. Some of these unwanted pups find a good home, but a larger number are left by the side of the road to be run over or dumped in an area where they starve or are killed by wild animals. Do your part to help lessen these numbers. Don’t support back yard breeders who exploit these animals to make a few extra bucks. Rescued is the best breed.
This week is the first of 3 low cost spay and neuter clinics for 2018. The clinic is held at the Have a Heart Shelter. In 3 days about 120 animals will be spayed or neutered. If you would like more information on the clinics, visit the website at www.spayneuterncar.org. The next clinic will be held July 10th – 12th, and the last one is November 6th – 8th.
We are working on details for our first annual Bark in the Park fundraiser. It will be held May 19th in the Yellville City Park. (Rain date May 26th.) We will have a parade of pets, puppy kissing booth, a dog/owner look-alike contest, and more. Plan to join us and show your support for our shelter. Watch for the flyers around town for more info or check the website, www.haveaheartpetshelter.org. The shelter and thrift store is located at 657 Highway 202 in Yellville. We are open Tuesday through Saturday 9am-3pm. Closed Sunday and Monday (but we still walk the dogs). Phone 870-449-7387.
