It has been a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful Year!
We cannot believe 2021 has come to an end. It has been a tough year, but it has been a good year. We have cared for a substantial number of animals, found them outstanding homes and have successfully spayed or neutered close to 1000 animals from the Shelter, through the Low Cost Spay & Neuter Clinics and the Community Cat Project. We wonder if we will ever see a time where animals are no longer abandoned or dumped in our communities.
Have A Heart Pet Shelter is a 100% volunteer organization and each of us care deeply for the animals under our care. Taking care of these animals and seeing and hearing the stories of abuse and neglect gets to you. Sometimes we may be abrupt or sarcastic with people, but please remember what we are dealing with and that we all have human frailties as well. There are only a few volunteers and fosters and we have families and pets that also need our attention. Remember we are doing this only for the love of the animals. In our world, the animal always comes first.
This community has been amazing with moral support, financial support and donations of Thrift Store items, pet food, toys, litter, cleaning supplies and more things than we can list. We were able to fill every animal’s Christmas stocking this year and have extras in the bin for animals coming in. We appreciate every dollar donated since it goes toward the care of the animals.
During 2020, we took in 466 dogs and 223 cats. Outcomes included 112 dog and 199 cat adoptions, 34 lost animals were returned to their owners and 305 dogs were transferred to other agencies out of state for adoption (most of these are puppies going to out of state puppy rescues). In 2021, we have taken in 496 dogs and 144 cats. 112 dogs and 141 cats have been adopted. Interesting that dog adoptions were the same for the two years. 366 dogs have been transported out of Arkansas for adoption. 284 of those have been puppies under 5 months of age.
Within the first 2 weeks of January, we will be sending 6 adult dogs and 11 puppies out of state for adoption. We have had people question why we do not keep all the dogs local for adoption. There are not enough people locally to adopt all the animals that need homes, and we do not want animals to be held in the Shelter for months before they can go into a home.
