ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
There are many stray animals in need of a home and soon, the Liberal Animal Shelter will be joining a big effort to help with just that.
The Liberal Animal Shelter will be teaming up with Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization working to save the lives of dogs and cats in U.S. animal shelters, to participate in a nationwide adoption event Saturday, Oct. 18 to celebrate the Kansas Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Proclamation issued by Gov. Laura Kelly to highlight the vital role pet adoption plays in building no-kill communities. The shelter will be joining many other shelters across the state by reducing adoption fees to $10 for altered dogs to get more pets out of shelters and into adoptive homes.
Liberal Animal Shelter Director Tara Logan said she is excited to be part of the effort.
“It was only a couple months ago when they got in touch with us, and we were happy to sign up as one of the participating shelters. We're very honored they asked us to be part of this, we've worked and worked to get as many animals adopted or rescued as possible,” Logan said. “We will start taking appointments anytime for that day for people to come in and set up a time to complete the adoption process.”
The overall goal, Logan said, is to help the animals find their fur-ever home.
“I'm hoping we get all of our altered animals adopted, that would be amazing. Right now, we have 10 dogs already spayed and neutered and up to date on their vaccinations, and it would be great if all 10 of them could find their fur-ever home that day,” Logan said. “For an adoption fee of only $10, you get a lifelong friend and the spay/neuter procedure is already taken care of, and that's not an inexpensive procedure. All you have to do is give these animals a loving home, keep them up to date on their yearly vaccines and register them with the city per the ordinance passed earlier this year. If you're looking for a pet, that weekend is definitely a good time to do an adoption, because these types of opportunities aren't available every day. Something I'm working on next year is getting as many of our animals spayed/neutered as possible in order to help lower adoption costs, but that's hard when the kennels are constantly full. I need people to be responsible pet owners to go along with those efforts.”
With all of that in mind, however, Logan said there are many variables to consider before adopting a new furry friend for the family.
“I know I’ve said this before, but having a pet is a long commitment – it's not just a few months, it can be a 10- to 15-year commitment or longer depending on the breed and other variables with the animal. You don't want to take a new animal into your home, let them get adjusted and then in a year or two pack up and move and just abandon them somewhere,” Logan said. “These animals are used to being in a home, not on the streets. And definitely have discussions with the whole family and make sure EVERYONE in the home is on board to take on that type of commitment. Another thing to remember is the City of Liberal now requires pet registration – if the animals is spayed/neutered, that fee is only $10, and then there are the other vet bills to take into consideration like vaccinations and all of that. People considering adopting a pet should definitely make sure they're prepared for the long term, that's the biggest thing. Recently, we've seen an extraordinary number of stray animals, and we don't automatically know if they're owned or not, so we don't know how to get them home. It's crazy how many stray dogs are roaming around town right now.”
Logan added she and shelter staff have definitely been talking up the animals up for adoption.
“We post videos every week of all the animals we have in the shelter who are ready for adoption. We also have volunteers come and play with the animals in our new play yard, and that area has REALLY helped because the animals are able to get out and play and get some sun and fresh air and enjoy some fun time,” Logan said. “It's been great having those volunteers out here, and we recently even had some guys from the Liberal High School football team come out to help with the Tackle Pet Homelessness campaign. With this event in particular, we put together a release for the City of Liberal, and there's a flyer and some other promotional materials I'm working on. We definitely aren't planning to be quiet about being part of all of this. We are constantly posting on the Liberal Animal Shelter Facebook page, the What's Up Liberal? Facebook page, our shelter Web site, and a few other places. We definitely aren't hiding any of these animals, we just need the community's support.”
Logan said she is looking forward to seeing what community turnout is like.
“I'm looking forward to getting people in here and meeting our animals and potentially taking home a new friend. I hope we get a lot of people coming out, and I hope the word about this spreads even beyond Liberal. If you come to our shelter and find a new furry friend, I will adopt it to you if you've got a good home and will take care of it,” Logan said. “These animals need homes – life in a home is better than life in a shelter kennel, because they deserve so much more. We do what we can for these animals in terms of making sure they're fed and sheltered and given attention, but it's not the same as being in a home with a loving family with a yard to run around in and a couch to stretch out on.”
With that, Logan added she would also like to see pet owners be more responsible.
“I want to remind people to be sure and secure their pets on their property. The alternative is never good – it's bad for you and bad for other parties involved, including the dog, if it bites someone. Dogs will bite if they're scared, and they'll also run if they're scared, and that's especially bad if they run into traffic,” Logan said. “There are so many things that can happen that could affect you and/or the animal adversely, and it's not worth it. If you need some advice on how to keep your dog secure, call us and have an Animal Control officer come out and talk to you, because we've learned a few tips and tricks along the way ourselves, so maybe we can help with some things. Let us try to help you how we can, because we do have resources we can advise you about. I want to remind people to be responsible pet owners and keep your animals secure and make sure they have everything they need and are licensed with the City of Liberal.”
Overall, Logan said, events like the one coming up are a win-win for everyone involved.
“We've had $10 adoption fees for altered animals for months out here, and I'm pleased with how that has gone – I'd like to see more of these animals adopted, but we have had multiple animals adopted, so I’m happy about that,” Logan said. “We pay for these animals to be spayed/neutered and get updated on their rabies vaccines. This is definitely something I would like to see continue into the future, but again, we have to have the community's support. This helps the shelter and the public – for the public, it's a cheaper adoption rate and a pet is great for people, and it's great for the shelter because since the animal is altered, there aren't the unwanted litters to deal with or those issues. Having these opportunities around is truly a win-win for everyone involved.”
