By Melanie Stegner

news@pctribune.com

As the animal overpopulation crisis looms, many wonder how they can help alleviate the situation. There are several ways, and some are unique to the Pope County Humane Society. 

Currently, the shelter has 24 adoption kennels and 12 intake kennels for cats, nine adoption and three intake kennels for dogs. “We try to leave one intake kennel open of each in case there is an emergency,” said Shauney Moen, Director of the Pope County Humane Society. 

A great way to help with the shelter overpopulation crisis is to make sure your pets are spayed or neutered. “We deal with so many unwanted cats. Usually, they show up on someone’s property and they get brought in, or community members will find or have litters of kittens that are unwanted, and they end up at the shelter,” Moen stated.

Cats can begin to reproduce as young as four months and that gets out of hand quickly. PCHS sponsors a low-cost spay/neuter program that is run entirely on donations. Donations made to the shelter for this specific program just need to be declared for that purpose. 

Pet owners should have an emergency plan. Some pets come in from situations where the owner moves into assisted living or passes away. As a family, it’s important to discuss what happens to pets when their caregiver no longer provide that care.  One of the biggest ways to help is to become a foster family for a pet. Fostering a pet is housing a pet until an adopter takes in the pet permanently. Foster families are not responsible for vetting the pet; in some cases, food and supplies are provided. PCHS currently has five active cat foster families and five active dog foster families, but that is not nearly enough. “In an ideal world, we would have as many fosters as we possibly can,” stated Moen. “The more foster families we have the fewer animals we have to turn away. We would like to have a larger foster committee to help with coordinating and assisting with fostering.”

PCHS offers a barn cat program as well. “Every once in a while, we get a cat through our doors that would not make a good indoor car through the behaviors it exhibits. Adoption terms for these types of cats are a “pay what you can” fee and an agreement to provide shelter, food and care for the cat.

Another way to help PCHS is to donate, not just money. They accept pet food, pet furniture, enrichment for the animals, supplies for staff duties and supplies for animal care. “The more that is donated, the more we can spend on shelter progression, expansion, upkeep and employee wages. We’re working on building a shed this spring and will be expanding our dog intake kennels and outdoor dog areas. Your monetary donations help support our goals of providing a better environment for our animals,” stated Moen.

Volunteering is another key that drives PCHS’ success. Being a volunteer at PCHS offers several opportunities. Socializing with the animals, helping with cleaning and assisting staff daily are just a few of the regular activities a volunteer could expect. There are also committees that community members can get involved in including fundraising, volunteering, fostering and education. “There are a lot of moving parts here and with more people, we can help in more ways,” Moen iterated.

Something that makes PCHS unique is the Class Act Thrift Store and donating unwanted items in good condition to the store helps in several ways. The store is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tom’s Market takes part in assisting the shelter as well. Community members are asked to drop their grocery receipts off at the thrift store and for every $100,000 in receipts, Tom’s donates $1,000. Tom’s Market in Starbuck and Glenwood have drop-off sites for aluminum cans, as does the shelter, to aid in fundraising for PCHS. 

Every year in April, PCHS holds a vote for new Board of Directors members. They are always looking for individuals who are willing to help the organization grow.

The best way to help the shelter and animals is to adopt one! The goal at PCHS for an adopter is to ensure that the environment will suit the pet’s needs and that the family and animal personalities are a match. “A lot of animals have gone through a big transition coming through our doors, so we want to find homes that will be understanding and support them in their transition to a permanent home,” Moen mentioned.

The number of ways community members can help control the pet population is immense and applies to those who love pets and those who don’t.