I am going to tell you a little about animal adoption and our local animal shelter, Caring Hands Humane Society.
Yearly, about 25 million dogs and cats are born in the United States. Six to eight million enter animal shelters, where only about half of them are adopted, and the rest are euthanized. One in five pets will become lost at some time during their life. Locally, about 300 animals are returned to their owners through Caring Hands each year.What other services does our humane society provide in Newton? Their Web site now features a page to check for lost pets, pictures and descriptions of available animals and free training advice. They offer very reasonably priced obedience classes. Through its S.N.Y.P. program, they provide assistance to families for sterilizing their own pets. If you want a specific type of pet, they have a breed request list. Other than local adoptions, they have helped many animals from Harvey County go places where there is a greater demand for those pets.How is our shelter funded? All the cities in Harvey County combined furnish only 9 percent of the shelter’s operating budget. Adoption fees may not even cover the expense to the shelter for caring for an animal. All animals, as well as being fed and sheltered, have physical exams, immunizations, microchips and are sterilized before they are adopted. They also provide emergency medical care for sick and injured animals. The majority of the funding for Caring Hands is provided by donations.What would it be like if we didn’t support our local animal shelter? One example is vet care, including spaying and neutering, may not be available for the animals. According to the Humane Society of the United States, a single cat can produce an average of 15 kittens per year. In just seven years, she and her offspring could produce 420,000 cats. In six years, a female dog and her descendants could produce as many as 67,000 puppies. We could be over-run quickly. Perfectly adoptable pets would be put down or would die off alone and hungry because the shelter could not pay for their treatment. Without our local shelter, the ability to recover our lost pets would be diminished. Some smaller towns around here don’t have their own shelter and rely on the privately funded Caring Hands. What would they do?Although not everyone can adopt an animal, there are a number of ways we can support Caring Hands and care for our local animals. We can spay and neuter our own animals. We also can encourage others to check out shelters when they are looking for pets. Caring Hands sells a few products to raise money, including collars, leashes, T-shirts and straw bales. Aluminum cans are accepted to raise money. They also welcome pet supplies and volunteers to care for the animals. Memberships are offered for as little as $25 a year, which entitles you to discounts from local businesses and a number of other bonuses. Caring Hands provides our community with valuable services. They need our support to enable them to do the most effective and loving job they can. Animals provide us with unconditional lov e and companionship, and we need to provide them with safety and care in return. I hope I suggested at least one or two simple ways each of you can help our local humane society. Alicia Smith resides in Goessel.NEWTON —
