ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Liberal’s Animal Control Department works hard every day in the community and recently, some recognition was bestowed.
Tara Logan, who serves as the Liberal Animal Shelter director, was recently awarded the Kansas Animal Control Association's Animal Welfare Professional of the Year Award. As Logan tells it, getting the award was a huge surprise.
“I'd originally heard about it from the Kansas Animal Control Association, they had let me know I'd been nominated and asked if I was planning on going to the Kansas Animal Control Association Convention in Manhattan. I told them yes, and then while I was there, I found out I'd won,” Logan said. “It's still kind of hard to believe they chose me out of everyone in the state of Kansas. We're just a small shelter all the way out in Southwest Kansas, so it's hard to think, out of everyone who works in animal welfare in Kansas, that they ended up choosing me for this award. I was really surprised.”
Logan began her time with the Liberal Animal Shelter back in 2021, and there have been a lot of accomplishments and work during that time.
“I started in July 2021, and I started as the kennel attendant and cleaning all the kennels and everything, and then I moved up to doing office work, and then to supervisor,” Logan said. “One of the things I'm really proud of is how we've made the shelter look much more welcoming by replacing flooring and painting the inside of the office, and we've done a few other cosmetic things to just make this facility look more welcoming and inviting to people. We've also started doing microchip clinics, we've done spay/neuter clinics, and we've also been able to give supplies to people in the area thanks to donations from the Chewy company. We've also worked with shelters and rescues in Hugoton, Ulysses, Guymon, Okla. and Hooker, Okla. and given them some supplies and necessities if we had any left over, and that includes some reptile supplies. There's also a sanctuary just outside Guymon that has horses, and we actually gave them a couple training/exercise balls that were part of a Chewy donation and a dog wheelchair.”
Logan added some of that work has been in partnership with the City of Liberal and other local businesses and entities.
“We also do a lot of education throughout the community, we worked with City Hall to get the pet licensing/registration started, and we're doing more spay/neuter clinics this year thanks to a great grant we received, and those dates are available on the City of Liberal social media pages and the Liberal Animal Shelter Facebook page,” Logan said. “Something else that's awesome is some local businesses have started sponsoring pet adoption fees for some of our animals – one example is Maggie, who's a female pit mix and has been here since the middle of December, and Golden Plains Credit Union called us recently and offered to take care of her adoption fees, meaning the only thing someone has to do is come in and give her her fur-ever home and get her spayed and vaccinated within the next six months. We've done a lot of work throughout the past few years, and when I start looking back, I can't help but be amazed at what all we've been able to accomplish.”
The need for a change, Logan said, is what started her career with the shelter.
“I'd only lived in Liberal for about a year, and I was working at Southwest Medical Center, and while I loved working there, I felt like I needed something more. I've also always loved animals, and there's a lot of benefits to working for the city,” Logan said. “I heard about an opening here at the shelter for kennel attendant, and I went for it. And around that time was when COVID-19 hit, so when you're in a room with just a bunch of animals and not dealing too much with the public, I knew I'd found what I needed. And the animals are just amazing, they perk up when they see you come in to feed or walk them, and you build that bond with them. It's great seeing them get adopted and knowing they've found their home. Working at the shelter was way more rewarding than I'd anticipated, and I've loved being here ever since. When you work for Animal Control or an animal shelter, people either love you or hate you, and we have a ton of support from the City of Liberal for what we do, and we also have many people in town who are animal lovers themselves. I continue to be amazed by the amount of support we get from the community – there was one time I just put on Facebook we were low on canned puppy food and would appreciate some donations, and shortly after that, we had a few people come in with full flats of canned puppy food and a smile. There was another time I'd shared how we were low on blankets and would appreciate some of those donations, and we ultimately ended up with more blankets than we knew what to do with! And we don't require people to donate to the shelter at all, we just share what we need and then we have some Good Samaritans come through for us, and it still amazes me after this time.”
And all of that work has been well worth it, Logan said.
“The number of animals we've been able to get to rescues is something I'm really proud of. We work with several great rescues in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and some other places, and we've built really great partnerships with them to the point where they trust us. If we tell them an animal won't give them any trouble, or if an animal's somewhat timid/skittish, they'll take us at our word and be sure to give that animal special attention,” Logan said. “I'm also proud of us getting the spay/neuter clinics started, that's something this community and this area has sorely needed. Last year, we had it open to everyone so we could get as many animals as possible taken care of, but this year, we're keeping it to just Liberal residents. I know some people probably don't like that, but since this is Liberal's city animal shelter, Liberal residents need to be given precedence this time around, and I hope those clinics go over well.”
And Logan said there are no plans for a slowdown in work at the shelter anytime soon.
“The Rotary Club is working on putting together a play yard outside for the shelter animals so the volunteers can take them outside and play with them and get them some fresh air and exercise, so that'll be great when it's done,” Logan said. “Another project we're still working on is a family room for families to bring pets they already have to meet potentially new family members and see those interactions, and we want to make that nice and homey and welcoming so everyone is comfortable. We're definitely excited about the upcoming spay/neuter clinics because those will help the community so much, and they're very much needed. We've got another couple ideas we've been brainstorming, including maybe having one of the Animal Control officers taking a couple of the dogs to Food Truck Saturdays – the dog(s) would be wearing a special bandana that says 'I'm available for adoption' and be walked throughout the crowds and could potentially find their fur-ever home that day. We haven't fully come to a decision about that yet, but it's an idea that's come out. We've also talked about working with Tortuga Brewing Company for a special Cats and Cocktails night or something similar, but again, that's just an idea right now. We love being involved in the community, and we want people to know who we are and what we do, because we are a service entity. We also love doing presentations at the schools, we've actually got a few coming up in the coming months.”
Overall, Logan said, she hopes to see the shelter continue to be successful.
“I'd like to thank the community for all of its support in what we do because without them, we wouldn't be able to function like we do,” Logan said. “I know not everything we do will be popular with everyone, but we do appreciate when the community shows its support by volunteering or bringing donations. We love the support we're getting, and I couldn't be more excited about what we've got going on now and in the future.”
