Meows and barks lead way to adoption |
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By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition |
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August 25, 2005 - The sound of friendly, yet desperate barks and meows can be heard throughout the Waco Humane Society, along with the "oohs and ahs" of the visitors looking to adopt animals. And, there are plenty of dogs and cats to choose from, as the facility holds around 200 animals at a time and receives 14,000 animals each year. All of the animals that are up for adoption are healthy, socialized animals that will make good pets, said Executive Director, Mary Burdette. The Waco Humane Society acts as a temporary home for the many stray animals in the Waco area. Each animal is provided with food, shelter, water and exercise. "We receive 28 percent of our funding from our contract with the City of Waco. The rest is raised through adoption fees, fundraising and donations," Burdette said. "Volunteers help walk the animals and keep them socialized so they will make good pets." Overpopulation is a large problem when it comes to animals. Since most animal shelters only provide temporary homes for the animals, many animals are euthanized each year to make room for other animals. When animals are adopted from the Humane Society they must be spayed or neutered to try to help cut down on the animal overpopulation. "It is important to prevent pet overpopulation. So many animals are dumped in rural areas." Burdette said. "It's a long-term project to educate people about the overpopulation of animals, but we are working on it. We are also working on banning the chaining of animals in McLennan County." With a background in non-profit organizations, Burdette has worked at the Waco Humane Society for four years, but she has been executive director for a little less than a year. The Waco Humane Society has two executive staff members, as well as kennel care technicians and volunteers. "We have a monthly volunteer orientation the first Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m.," explained Burdette. "The volunteers do anything from walking, grooming and socializing animals, to office filing and helping with events." Each Saturday, pets from the Waco Humane Society are available to adopt at PetSmart. And PetSmart holds a three-day adoptathon in September and May. A wine and food festival is held in October, as well as Paws in the Park, which is held in the spring. Each event acts as a fundraiser for the humane society. Twenty percent of the animals at the animal shelter are adopted and five percent are reclaimed by the owners. "It depends, but each year around 2,500 to 3,000 animals are adopted," Burdette said. "Each animal is microchipped and goes into a national database. It works very well. It is placed between the shoulder blades and is the size of a grain of rice." Microchipping helps keep track of the animals in case they become lost or stray again. The Waco Humane Society performs microchipping for the public every Wednesday, with a cost of only $10. Dogs cost $80 to adopt and cats cost $60. The adoption cost includes microchipping, spay/neutering, the first round of shots and a rabies coupon. The public needs to be aware of the loving, adoptable animals that are available, and the humane society does its share of advertising. "We advertise in the Waco Tribune Herald classifieds, American Classifieds, Petfinder and Pet 911 websites and on the City of Waco website. I'm on the local morning television shows with pets, too," Burdette said. "Any opportunity we have, we like to get the word out." Puppies and kittens are much more popular at getting adopted, Burdette said, "and we try to promote older, mature animals. We encourage people to come and look at the animals. Twenty percent of our animals are purebred. If we don't have what you are looking for, sooner or later it is about to come in." |
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