Pets Of The Week

The Board of Directors at Have a Heart recently made the difficult decision to cancel the Volunteer Low Cost Spay and Neuter Clinic (originally scheduled for February), due to the worsening pandemic. This was a tough call to make since spay and neuter is the most effective way to stop the seemingly endless flow of unwanted animals in our county. The S & N Clinic has been rescheduled for March 30th to April 1st, providing the Covid-19 situation has improved. We will post any updates on our website, Facebook page and in this article.

            Last week our Shelter volunteers were busy getting 21 puppies ready for transport to the Humane Society of Missouri, an out of state puppy rescue. These fur-babies have a better chance of being adopted in the larger metropolitan area. There were also several local adoptions. Cocoa, the little terrier dog was adopted, as well as felines Alex, Pepper and Nick. You can see pictures of the fur-kids with their new families on our Facebook page.

            Our featured dog for this week is Wendy. Wendy is not yet ready for adoption, but we wanted to share her story. On Monday afternoon we received a message from a local resident about an emaciated stray dog on MC 6001 between Thousand Oaks and the turkey barns.  We posted the photo of the first sighting on our Facebook page.  On Tuesday we received a call about another sighting in the same area and a call from a rescue in another part of the state that offered help if we could catch her.  We were willing to set up a feeding station and eventually a trap to catch her if we could win her trust.  We posted a request for any information that might help us find her.  Our volunteers and several other people drove the area trying to pinpoint her territory.  No one was able to find her.  On Wednesday morning we received a call from a friend of the Shelter who has previously adopted from us and volunteered at the Shelter.  She was coming home from work and saw the dog on Old Dump Road (MC 6002) near the Crooked Creek Access.  She had not seen our post, but being the kind of animal lover she is, she turned around and immediately approached the dog with cheese crackers trying to befriend her.  After about 45 minutes of luring, the dog jumped in her car.  Immediately she called the Shelter and we told her to bring her in (even though we had to shuffle dogs around to make space, we were going to get her out of danger).  We named this beautiful girl Wendy after the lady who brought her in.  We put her on a feeding schedule to not upset an already fragile body and closely monitored her throughout the day.  She weighs in the mid 30’s when a dog of her size and breed should weigh around 55 lbs.  After a few days, Wendy is doing very well.  She is tolerating the food with no digestive upset and is very trusting and loving.  In 4 days, the Facebook post was shared 337 times and 25,264 people were reached.  We have had a couple of people check to see if it is their lost dog, but none have fit her description.  If you feel this may be your dog, you must provide veterinarian records and photos as proof of ownership.  She still has a long way to go before she can be adopted.  In addition to putting on weight, she needs to be fully vetted to make sure she is in excellent health.  We do have several people interested in adopting who have submitted applications.  We will carefully screen all applicants since we feel this girl deserves an excellent home.  This story is another example of people in our community working together to save the life of an animal.

            Mona Lisa is this week’s featured kitty. Mona is a domestic short hair, adult tabby cat. She was rescued from a cat hoarding situation. She was in pretty poor shape and was very shy when she first arrived at the Shelter, but is now in great health and has come out of her shell. She enjoys interacting with other cats at the shelter but would also do well as an only cat. Mona Lisa is a bit shy with strangers, but will quickly warm up to you. She likes tummy rubs and plays well with the kittens in the cattery. Call Have a Heart to schedule an appointment to meet Mona Lisa or any of our other adoptable pets. HAH’s adoptable pets can be seen on our website, www.haveaheartpetshelter.org, on Petfinder, Adopt a Pet, Petango, and Pet Harbor. Have a Heart is located at 657 Highway 202 in Yellville. Phone 870-449-7387.