ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The staff of the Liberal Animal Shelter works hard every day, and recently, those efforts have been extending into their adoption efforts.
Liberal Animal Shelter Director Tara Logan said recent adoption efforts have been going very well.
“Our recent efforts have been going really well, we've been adopting a lot of animals out to individuals and families recently. We've had multiple events to help with that, including the one we did with Tortuga Brewing Company and other events and programs we've done at the shelter and in the community,” Logan said. “In October, we did 27 adoptions and in November, we did 21 adoptions. Between the adoption event we coordinated with Tortuga Brewing Company and the spaying/neutering clinics and microchipping events, we've been really successful because doing those events lets us reduce the adoption price. All of the money we use for those efforts comes from the shelter budget, but it's truly worth it because that means we're not euthanizing anyone to make sure there's space for other incoming animals.”
Logan said it is a great feeling for her and her staff to connect the animals with great local families.
“All of those adoptions makes us feel amazing. It always breaks our hearts when we bring in an animal who clearly has an owner – it's very obvious to us when that happens because the animal knows commands and has better manners compared to an animal who's been on the streets,” Logan said. “When the owner doesn't come for their animal, it breaks our hearts, and we pay for certain care so when they do get adopted again, there are fewer worries for those owners. When we do the spay/neuter clinics and adoption events with the reduced prices, the only thing the new owner has to do is give the animal(s) a loving home and get them registered with the city.”
In fact, Logan said, there was a big increase in the number of adoptions in 2025 compared to 2024.
“In 2024, we did a total of 161 adoptions and through Dec. 4, we've already done 223 adoptions. It's great seeing such a big increase because that tells us all the long hours are worth the work we do. And it's not just hours when we're clocked in, that includes the times when we're at home and worrying about everyone in the shelter,” Logan said. “For example, I was home a few nights ago when it was cold and there was snow blowing through, and one of my main thoughts was 'How many animals are out in this stuff right now running around and potentially freezing to death?' Even when we're 'off duty,' we're still thinking about everyone and worrying about them. When we see such a big difference, it makes us feel better and lets us know the work we're doing is important.”
In fact, when it comes to the recent adoption efforts, Logan said she cannot give her staff enough thanks.
“We've put so much work into everything we've been doing, and I can't give enough appreciation for what my Liberal Animal Shelter employees and the Animal Control officers do on a daily basis, because they work themselves to the bone like no one knows,” Logan said. “We've also had some adoption fees be paid for by local citizen donations, which is also amazing because again, that means all the new owner has to do is give the animal a good home and register it with the City of Liberal. I love the updates we see on Facebook about what the animals are doing in their new homes, they're getting so much love and getting so spoiled by their new families, and I think us sharing those updates has made people realize we do have good, adoptable animals at the shelter. There's a bit of a stereotype of shelter animals not being very good, but that is absolutely not true.”
With the success seen this year, Logan said she looks forward to keeping that momentum going.
“We're planning on working with a veterinarian out of Hays, she'll be coming in once a month to spay/neuter the whole shelter. If an animal's been here longer than the mandatory 72 hours, the shelter will pay to have it spayed or neutered,” Logan said. “That will happen once a month, which will help keep adoption costs down. In 2026, we're also planning on hosting the microchipping clinics, which we'll be hyping up on Facebook, and those will happen on weekends so more people will have the opportunity to get that done. Those will be done the same way as the other microchipping clinics we've done. We've also been talking about starting a pet food pantry for people who have hit some hard times and need a bag of food to last until their next payday or whatever their situation happens to be, and if we do end up starting that, we'll be looking at similar programs in terms of what rules/regulations there are and how that all works. Part of those discussions also include how funding would work and where the supplies would actually come from. However, at this point, that's just an idea we have, nothing's been officially decided. For right now, however, our priority is finishing 2025 on a strong note and making sure everyone gets taken care of who needs it.”
Overall, Logan said, she and her staff are expecting to remain busy.
“We'll definitely keep working on our adoption efforts throughout 2026, and we've got multiple ideas of other programs we can do – none of them have been officially decided upon, they're just ideas we've been tossing around,” Logan said. “We'll also continue visiting schools to talk to local children and being part of bigger community events so we'll be even more visible to the people and educate them about what we do and share some other information. We've got a good social media presence, but we also need to be out in the community and among the people. I would just encourage people to keep an eye on our social media pages and on the Liberal Animal Shelter Web site through the City of Liberal, both of those places have a lot of information in terms of filling out the adoption application and everything else.”
