October is Adoption Month for a Shelter Dog | Local News

In an effort to help animals waiting in shelters find loving homes forever, the American Humane Association in 1981 announced the celebration of October as National Shelter Dog Adoption Month.

At the Hardin County Animal Shelter on Wednesday, they had 58 dogs in total, 23 of them ready for adoption.

“There are so many good dogs passing by. We get a variety. They are all dogs that need a home and love and they are here for different reasons. … They are all wonderful dogs, ”said Maranda Dawson of Hardin County Animal Care and Control.

Dawson said people often think the animal did something wrong to be at the shelter.

“It’s not true,” she said, noting that some pets are just at the shelter because their owners had to move and couldn’t take their pet with them. “A lot of people think of the shelter dogs here as ‘damaged property’, they’re not. … We get some of the sweetest, friendliest dogs out there.

Dawson said one of the benefits of adopting at the shelter is that the animals have been seen by a vet. They are all sterilized or sterilized and vaccinated. She noted that all dogs are also microchipped.

As part of Adopt a Shelter Dog month, the shelter organizes an “Adopt Your Boo Special” every year. This year it will be October 25-30. During this time, all pet adoptions will be $ 31. Typically, dogs cost around $ 90 and cats cost around $ 60 to adopt.

For dogs, adoption fees include distemper vaccination, deworming, sterilization, rabies vaccination, microchip, kennel cough vaccination and a license from Hardin County.

For cats, the costs include vaccination against feline distemper, deworming, sterilization and vaccination against rabies.

If anyone is seeking adoption, Dawson has recommended that they check in with the shelter frequently.

“It changes almost daily for the dogs we have for adoption,” she said. “Every time one is adopted, we have another to take its place. Just because we don’t have what you’re looking for today doesn’t mean we won’t have the perfect dog for you tomorrow.

To view the shelter’s adoptable dogs, visit petfinder.com. One of the current adoptable dogs is Dottie, a 7 year old pit bull mix.

Those looking for a way to help the animal shelter can do so by volunteering or donating. Dawson said they can still use cleaning supplies, dog and cat food and more. When researching certain items, she said they would contact the community through their Facebook page or other means.

Some of the items on their wishlist include paper towels, laundry detergent, collectable litter, amazon gift cards, dog poop bags, and small plastic cat carriers. When selecting pet foods, the shelter asks for foods without red dyes.

In celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog month, the Friends of the Hardin County Animal Shelter recently received a donation from the Schaffrick Charitable Foundation. Representatives from both groups and Hardin County Animal Care and Control gathered this week for the official presentation of a check for $ 18,000.

“When the shelter has expenses outside of its budget, FOHCAS helps with financial support,” Board chair Jo Ellen Thomas said in a press release. “Our fundraising efforts help support the community cat program, medical fund, low cost sterilization and the shelter’s full-time veterinarian. This kind of generous donation makes our work possible.

FOHCAS is a non-profit organization that supports the work of Hardin County Animal Care and Control through fundraising and community education and outreach.

For more information on adoptions or how to help the shelter, call 270-769-3428. The shelter, located at 220 Peterson Drive in Elizabethtown, is open from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Mary Alford can be reached at 270-505-1417 or [email protected].