Sadly, we cannot save them all. We can only save those we can. It is a sad realization that many of the animals and people who reach out to the Shelter cannot be helped, no matter how much we wish we could. There are only so many spaces, people, and resources to help those in need.
It is very frustrating, but it is a fact. We often must prioritize when we do not want to. We take animals that we think we’ll be able to find homes for quickly, instead of taking an animal that is going to take a lot of time and money to rehabilitate and take up needed space in the Shelter. If an animal stays for a long time, other animals are not going to be helped. We don’t like it either, but it’s a sad fact.
We can’t take your neighborhood feral cat that fights with all the other cats. We can’t take a dog with a history of biting that may be a danger to the community. We can’t take your ten-year-old pet with lots of health problems because you are moving and won’t take it with you. We can’t take all pets of the same breed, color, or size at the same time. We want to have a selection of animals at the Shelter that are close to the requests of people looking to adopt. We do make a priority of animals in animal control who are at risk of being euthanized. We do help with litters of puppies because we have other rescues in metropolitan cities out-of-state willing to take puppies because they have spay & neuter laws and have limited numbers of puppies. We do take animals that are up-to-date on shots and have been sterilized because we can find homes for them more quickly.
This may sound harsh and cruel to some, but the fact is we are trying to help and care for the most animals we can. And, the reality is, we can’t help them all. We are a small, all volunteer shelter. And we can always use more volunteers.
However, we also work to help people care for their pets so they do not have to surrender them. We provide food for pets of people who are financially unable to feed their animals, but they must agree to have the pet sterilized at one of our upcoming clinics. We will even provide financial help for them to do so. We also encourage people to limit their number of pets to those they can provide for. We totally get it. Every one of our volunteers is an animal lover, but we all are aware there is a limit to how many each of us can adequately care for.
Opal
The dog featured this week is one of these examples. Opal’s owners moved away and left her behind. The kind neighbors took her in and began feeding her before realizing she was pregnant. They cared for her until she had her 12 puppies. The pups got accepted into the Shelter’s puppy partner program and, once weaned, were sent to a metropolitan city out-of-state to be adopted. Then Opal was brought to the Shelter so we can find her the perfect home.
Opal is a young, female black lab that is very loving and desperately wants her own family. Her only weakness is she likes to dig out of her kennel and kill chickens. She gets along well with people of all ages and other dogs. (We haven’t tested her with cats yet.) She will be spayed as soon as possible so she is never put in this predicament again. She is a great dog and will make a wonderful family pet if you don’t have chickens.
Victoria
This is Victoria. She arrived at the Shelter back in December 2020 as a young kitten. She and her little brother were orphaned when their Mom was killed in an accident. She was adopted the very next month and was doing great in her new home. However, her adopter wanted her to be a mostly outdoor kitty and she wanted to be inside, loving on people and getting loved on. Earlier this month, he surrendered her back to the Shelter. She is a very loving and curious young lady, sporting pretty brown tabby markings. Her estimated DOB is 9/25/20, so she’s only two years old. She would be great as an indoor/outdoor cat but prefers to be indoors with her people.
If you’d like to meet Victoria, Opal, or any of our adoptables, please come see us at Have A Heart Pet Shelter, 657 Highway 202 West, in Yellville, or call 870/449-7387. And follow us on Facebook at Have a Heart Pet Shelter.