Last week was difficult to say the least and now we are waiting to see what this week brings. The week began by a visit from the DeKalb County Animal Cruelty Investigator. Despite our best efforts we still have our critics and they filed a complaint which was appropriately investigated. The investigation was complete and they said, The kennels were clean, the dogs were fed, they had clean water, and adequate shelter. Their main concern was that we have too many dogs. This is something we already knew, and have been trying to correct. On June 1, we had 449 dogs at our shelter, last Monday we had 409, so our numbers are heading in the right direction. Summer is normally our worst season, because we have a larger inflow of dogs, and a smaller outflow because people are distracted by vacations and other ventures. Typically, our donations are less during the summer, once again because people have other things going on. Our plan is to keep our numbers going in a downward direction. Mary Harris has been working tirelessly to try and arrange for some of our dogs to get transferred to No Kill shelters in other more progressive areas. The problem is most of these transfers are limited to smaller dogs which is not our biggest issue. Our log jam at the shelter is centered around an over abundance of larger dogs. So, if you are inclined to help us through a difficult time at the shelter here are some facts and needs. If you are inclined to bring us dog food, take a break for the moment because for now our pantry is well stocked. If you are inclined to volunteer, you are always welcome but we have had sufficient help because of the city of Albertville sending workers from the jail. Yesterday, we had a total of twenty people working to take care of our dogs, on an average day 8 to 12 people are here, but in our opinion the more the merrier. If you desire to support our shelter financially, now is a great time for you to make your contributions. Our vet bills are rising, and we have been plagued by unexpected vehicle repairs and other expenses. Finally, I want to speak to those people that have room for a dog. Our main concern at the shelter is too many dogs. The only real way to reduce this number is for dogs to get adopted into good homes. If you have room for a new family member you can help the shelter more than you know by taking one of our dogs home. We are down forty since the first of June and need to keep moving in the right direction. Now you have the facts about the shelter and our needs, last week we felt like just a few shoulders were carrying the load. If you are one of the 15,000 Facebook fans that have found a reason to like the shelter we want to encourage you to jump in and help as much as you see fit. This shelter is the difference between life and death, just thirty miles away from here a county pound destroys between 80 to 100 animals a week and the numbers at other pounds are just as staggering. We try to offer life to stray animals but there is only so much we can do. So, help us if you can, mainly by adopting, and as always we encourage you to Spay and Neuter you pets. - Doug
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:24:43 +0000
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