“WE NEED HELP,” a July 4 post on the Erath County Humane Society began.
At that time, the facility was “way over capacity” with 91 dogs and 97 cats.
Animal lovers opened their hearts and homes following the post to bring down those numbers to 77 dogs and 79 cats but ECHS director Serena Wright reports the facility still has some big needs.
“We need adopters and fosters,” Wright said. To help get the prospective pets home, ECHS is running discounted adoption rates: $10 for cats, $25 for dogs who have not been spayed/neutered and $50 for dogs who have.
In spite of the need, Wright still urges people to adopt only when they’re committed to the responsibilities of owning a pet.
She also urges animal owners to get their pet spayed/neutered, saying the facility that takes in stray animals from Stephenville and Dublin (who has been without a shelter for a while) is dealing with the “repercussions” of animals not being neutered. (Any adopter of an ‘unaltered’ animal from ECHS has to get it spayed/neutered within 30 days.)
All exterior pens and interior pens were full as Wright walked the facility Friday and she reported that they have to rotate the animals between enclosures during the day for cleaning/ exercise. This can lead to an exhausting routine, especially when observing guidelines like those that ECHS has for puppies.
Wright said that puppies aren’t allowed on the ground at ECHS until they’ve had their third round of shots. They are carried when not in their regularly sterilized kennels.
Wright said that ECHS vaccinates everything although they aren’t able to give regular rabies shots since they don’t have a vet. A mobile clinic will come to the facility from time-to-time to help with the shots.
The facility has also taken in animals from DeLeon and Comanche in the past, but because of the large numbers, they aren’t able to take in extra animals. Wright said they are unable to take in owner surrenders, although they make exceptions for animals that the owners originally got from ECHS.
The drop between July 4 and July 9 had made it more manageable though. The July 4 post reported that dogs were having to be kept in wire crates due to the emergency conditions.
Wright said that the facility really only has space to house 26 dogs comfortably, but they rarely, if ever, get that low. Right now, her goal is for the numbers to drop into the 50s. They have been able to send some of the animals to other areas, including Canada, Utah and Idaho, which were in need of adoption animals. However, the regularity of animals brought in has kept the numbers up.
“We are just getting them in faster than we are able to get them out,” the July 4 Facebook post stated.
Wright admitted ECHS’ biggest need is a new place, preferably “outside of town” with enough acreage to handle the large number of animals that get delivered to the no-kill shelter. Wright said there have been people willing to help fund it, but they need to find available land for the site.
Wright is very grateful to the many people who bring in regular donations and to Wal-Mart, which sets up monthly tables of needs for the shelter that people can purchase for donation. Due to the high numbers of animals to upkeep, one of the biggest needs is just cash. Wright said that with food, care and shots, every animal is being adopted out at a loss.
Donations can be made online at Venmo (@echs19) and PayPal (PayPal.me/ echs1).
Wright said she is also grateful to ECHS’ employees Caroline Dean, Taylor Nations, Lisa Bowers, Deborah Dial and Sharon Gaines and the many volunteers who make running the shelter possible.
Wright has been managing the facility since Aug. 2019 and acted as a volunteer for 5 years and was a board member before taking on the director position.
“I love every minute of it,” she said. “But it hurts sometimes.”