Jackson, Mich. — Last week, Cascades Humane Society (CHS) received a call from Cathy Bissell, of the Bissell Pet Foundation, regarding the urgent need to transfer more than 250 dogs from the Humane Society of the Delta in Arkansas. The shelter was overloaded with pets and could not keep up on the care of the animals and the cleaning of the shelter. Cascades Humane Society, along with 15 other shelters from Michigan, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, rescued a total of 213 dogs and 11 cats. The Humane Society of Tulsa transported some of the dogs out of Arkansas, including a trip to CHS.
6.5 million animals enter shelters each year. Consistently, shelters down in the southern United States are overrun with dogs and cats, as they do less spaying and neutering of owned pets.
Cascades Humane Society accepts more than 1,400 animals per year from owner surrenders, strays, and transfers from other rescues and shelters. Jackson County and surrounding areas are the main priority for CHS when accepting homeless pets. When the needs of the community have been met and cage space is available, CHS will transfer dogs in from high kill shelters to give even more pets a second chance at life.
“When Cathy Bissell called, CHS wanted to help. Kennel space was available, and the desire to save these animals in need was great” says Executive Director Heather Leszczynski. “Many of the pets we selected to be transported to CHS were high priority to get out of the shelter down south and were not handling the shelter environment well. CHS has an amazing track record of transforming scared and unsure animals into well-adjusted, adoptable pets”.
CHS, specifically, received a total of 29 animals, including 4 cats. “Once they arrived, they were evaluated by our medical staff and we found that a few of the dogs needed immediate medical care. Almost all of them still need to be spayed or neutered. In addition, many of the dogs are heartworm positive and we will begin treatment as soon as we possibly can,” states Leszczynski. If you are interested in adopting one of these animals, check CHS’s website, www.chspets.org, and their Facebook page for the most up to date information.
