Animals Will Be Euthanized for Space at the Animal Shelter in Texarkana
The animal shelter in Texarkana is facing overcrowding issues again as more dogs continue to be surrendered and picked up by animal control officers. Any of the dogs listed below could go down at anytime if they are not adopted or rescued. Some dogs were already euthanized this week because of overcrowding.
These dogs as well as any others that have been at the shelter since September, or before, are in danger of being euthanized. More kennel cards are pictured below of dogs that are in danger at the shelter.
The animal shelter is still in the midst of repairing the older building where many strays are normally held. Approximately half of the stray hold building is not in use while it is being repaired. This can cut the shelter's ability to keep animals for longer than a few weeks or in some cases only a few days. Predicting how many new animals will be brought in on a daily basis is not possible. If the shelter has more dogs and cats coming and there is no room, usually the animals that have been there the longest are euthanized. If a dog fights with other dogs or is not as adoptable as others, they are more likely to be pulled off the adoption floor and put to sleep.
The Animal Care and Adoption Center in Texarkana, Ark., is the only shelter we have in town and it is the place that all of the strays go that are picked up by animal control officers or dropped off by citizens. The shelter is also under contract to take animals from surrounding communities.
Space is an issue that all open admission shelters face. Open admission means all animals surrendered to the shelter or picked up by animal control officers, are taken in by the facility. The hold time varies depending which side of State Line Avenue the animal was picked up.
The hold period is three or five days.
Once the hold time has expired, the shelter takes ownership of the animal and can dispose of him or her in any way they deem necessary.
Here is information from the shelter of what to do if you find a stray pet:
This information is helpful if you have lost a pet:
Below you can take a video tour of the dog adoption floor that was taken on October 10, 2016. Some of these dogs have since been euthanized. Others have been tagged by rescues and some may have been adopted. Several new dogs have been moved up to the adoption floor from the stray hold area. Please share the video to help dogs find new homes.
Not nearly enough adoptions occur to make room for all of the dogs that are waiting to be moved up. If you see a dog that you would like to foster, find a rescue group to pull the dog into their program. Here is a list of the rescues. Other options for helping these dogs is to share their photos and videos on your social media pages so others will see them.
Each week we feature a pet of the week. Here are the most recent stories of our featured shelter dogs:
If you are missing a dog, it is always a good idea to check the animal shelter in Texarkana daily to make sure your missing animal hasn't been picked up by animal control or taken to the shelter.
We often take videos and publish stories with information about the stray dogs from the shelter to help get them reunited with their owners:
Additional stories about the stray hold building:
Many dogs and cats are euthanized in the shelter every year. It is up to the community to prevent it starting with spaying and neutering pets. You can also take your pet to the shelter to be microchipped for only $20. That way if your pet is ever lost, he or she can be returned to you quickly.
More dogs in danger:
The shelter's adoption fees are $20 for cats and $40 for dogs. The adopter also has to pay the vetting fees up to $144, depending on the gender and size of the animal or whether the animal has been spayed or neutered.
The Animal Care and Adoption Center is located at 203 Harrison St., Texarkana, Ark., 71854 and is open Monday through Friday from 11AM and 5PM and Saturdays from 11AM to 2PM. Also, visit the shelter's Facebook page.
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