Many of you read with interest the Weatherford Police Department Annual Report published in February. Included in the report was an overview of the progress of the Weatherford/Parker County Animal Shelter for the year 2007. It praised changes that improved the shelter such as new software, more user-friendly hours of operation and the completion of a new building. It also included a 2005 – 07 Animal Control Comparison chart illustrating number of intakes, adoptions and returns to owner. While adoptions were slightly up from 2006 (only very slightly), what stood out to me is the total number of intakes were well up over both 2005 and 2006. In fact last year the shelter took in 7011 lost and abandoned animals of which 70%, sadly, were euthanized.

I would suggest that the spike in animal intakes reflects the rate at which our community is growing. People are moving west by droves, many of them with the dream of owning land and stocking it with animals. We also seem to house a number of puppy mills or “back yard breeders” in Parker County, but the biggest nonsense contributing to this problem is that the average pet owners still do not spay or neuter their pets. I know this to be true as “puppy/kitten season” is here and it’s not unusual for the shelter to take in 5 to 10 litters a day, many of them quite sick.

Last year in an effort to fight this war I suggested to a fellow volunteer that we start a non-profit organization to help the lost and abandoned animals at the shelter by increasing pet adoption and improving the quality of life for the shelter animals. Parker Paws was successfully formed and awarded its 501c3 non-profit status in February 07.

Completely volunteer driven, we operated 9 off-site adoption events in 2007 at various local business including PetSmart, Pets West, Teskey’s Saddle Shop and Walmart. Taking the Mobile Adoption Unit generated a lot of public interest and we were successful in finding homes for 60 pets.

In addition to the adoption events, we’ve coordinated with local pet groomers to groom dogs at the shelter weekly and recruited volunteers to assist at the shelter and provide foster homes for animals that can’t be kept there because they are pregnant, nursing or have special needs.

Parker Paws has also received funds which were used to purchase supplies needed by the shelter such as flea and tick products, pet crates, cat litter and cleaning supplies.

We are always in need of volunteers, ages 18+, to help socialize, bathe and groom dogs at the shelter and work the off-site adoption events. The animals enjoy the attention and are more accessible to potential adopters when they have been handled by a volunteer. This is something that money can’t buy (though we can find good use for any tax deductible donation) and there are many ways to give of your time to help, as little or as much as you like.

If we all work together to be more responsible pet owners, educate the public about the benefits of spay/neuter and do what we can to help the animals that have been brought into the shelter, perhaps next year’s report will reflect it.