Humane Society needs your help

For the second time this year, the local Humane Society has received a $5,000 spay/neuter grant. The first grant was from the state of Tennessee Animal Friendly License Plate Fund. This grant was used to assist low-income families and covered the cost of approximately 120 sterilization procedures.

The second grant is from the DJ&T Foundation and is to be used to help the general public with companion animals that may not otherwise be spayed or neutered. As was true for the state of Tennessee grant, this grant cannot be used for shelter animals that are up for adoption or for those in foster care.

In order to receive this grant, a change in the shelter’s policy on spay/neuter of animals being placed for adoption was necessary. No longer will any animal be allowed to leave the shelter and go to the new home before being spayed/neutered. This applies to puppies and kittens as well as adult animals.

This new policy will occasionally require that an animal remain at the shelter or be placed in foster care until an appointment can be secured for the sterilization procedure. Shelter employees ask for your patience and understanding when you adopt an animal and cannot immediately take it home.

The local Humane Society is committed to providing financial assistance to anyone requesting help to have his or her pet spayed/neutered. In addition to providing assistance through grants, the shelter uses money from its own fundraisers.

Feb. 24 is Spay Day USA and the local shelter plans to pay for altering 60 animals belonging to low-income families. The shelter needs $3,000 for this event and presently has $1,450. WBMC radio will conduct a silent auction for the shelter and your help is requested.

There are many ways you can help the local shelter:

1. Have your own companion animals spayed/neutered before they have a litter. A cat can have a litter at the age of 5 months so it is important to have them altered at an early age. Female dogs should be spayed at 6 months and male dogs neutered at 9 months.

2. Talk to family and friends about having their pets altered. It is much better for the health and behavior patterns of the animal to have them altered before they reach reproductive age.

3. Support the local shelter financially. Gifts may be designated for the spay/neuter fund or to the general operating budget. All gifts are tax deductible.

4. Purchase the Animal Friendly License Plate. Part of this fund is used to award spay/neuter grants to animal shelters and organizations across Tennessee.

5. Adopt animals from the local shelter rather than purchasing them from a pet shop or back-yard breeder.

6. Volunteer to be a foster parent for animals that have been adopted from the shelter, but are waiting to be altered. Usually this waiting period will only be a matter of days.

7. Become a member of the local Humane Society. Even if you can’t spend hours volunteering, there are ways that you can help. The Humane Society meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the courthouse.

Have a humane attitude and concern for animals. The only responsible and effective method of animal population control is sterilization of companion animals.

Call 473-5720 and let us assist you with the cost of spaying and neutering your companion animals. Our goal is to alter every pet in Warren County and we cannot be successful without your help.