Remembering animals during the giving season

While Christmas is around the corner and gifts will be given to many in the community, one nonprofit in Young County continues to look for support. With the Humane Society of Young County being overcapacity for months, the organization is looking for assistance.

The nonprofit shelter is currently housing 71 animals: 34 dogs and 37 cats. The shelter’s capacity for dogs is 24 and it has been overcapacity, according to HSYC Director Shelby Brogdon.

One of the primary challenges faced by the shelter in 2023 has been the treatment of animals in the county.

“This year we have experienced more starvation and neglect cases than in any previous years since I have been director,” Brogdon said. “We have also had several large seizure cases this year that depleted our cash on hand plus supplies and manpower.”

The shelter serves as the holding facility for strays from the city of Graham, city of Olney and Young County. It accepts animal surrenders from owners in the same coverage area.

“We try to reconnect lost pets with their families, and when that isn’t possible, work on either rescue or placement into new homes,” Brogdon said.

HSYC offers monthly low-cost preventative care and spay and neuter clinics through the P.E.T.S. Clinic and also has once a month transports to their clinic in Wichita Falls for spaying and neutering.

“HSYC strongly believes that spay and neuter is the only way to avoid euthanasia due to overpopulation in shelters,” Brogdon said. “Since we don’t turn away animals from our county, when we have no more space to house dogs or cats, we have to make very difficult decisions. We always work with rescues to help with our dogs and cats, but right now, everyone is experiencing high intake numbers and there are only so many spaces.”

The majority of funding to the shelter is through public donations. Only 25% of the funding for the shelter comes from city and county support.

“Our supporters are so good to step up and donate when we list our needs,” Brogdon said. “While the cost of everything including our utilities, vet services, medicines, dog and cat food, cleaning products, etc. has increased, our revenue has not. Monetary donations are desperately needed to keep our heads above water.”

Donations of items to the shelter are accepted during business hours which can be dropped at the gate or donors can call and come in the shelter to donate.

“We keep an updated wish list on Amazon, Chewy, and Walmart.com and the links to those can be found on our webpage along with links to donate monetarily through Venmo and PayPal,” she said.

Some of the most immediate items needed by the shelter are cat litter, dry cat food, Simple Green, Fabuloso, Odoban, paper towels, small dog treats, puppy pads, Dawn dish soap (or equivalent), pill pockets, tough chews for large dogs (no rawhide).

The shelter hosts monthly adoption events at PetSmart in Wichita Falls, but Brogdon said to do research before adopting a pet as a gift for Christmas.

“The most important thing to remember about Christmas adoptions is that this is a living being. It’s not a toy to entertain the kids for a few weeks,” she said. “If the family has been considering a pet, have researched, are ready to adopt, then as long as the household isn’t too loud or busy, a Christmas adoption can be okay.”

The director said where problems arise with Christmas adoptions are when it is an impulse decision which can ultimately impact the animal as well as the shelter and its capacity.

“Whether adopting or otherwise obtaining a new pet as a gift, if it’s not thought out the new pet will likely pay the price,” Brogdon said. “Shelters see an influx of dogs surrendered in the months after Christmas. Once the novelty has worn off and the pet needs training and attention, many find it easier to surrender the pet.”

The director said the city of Graham has an abundance of strays with some of the same animals roaming the streets each day. She requests members of the community take caution with stray animals.

“Roaming animals may not always be friendly. Don’t just walk up and grab an animal you aren’t familiar with,” she said. “If the animal seems comfortable with you doing so, check for an ID tag or number on a collar. Have the animal scanned for a microchip. Any vet, animal control, shelter, and even a few of our volunteers have scanners to check for chips. If there is no ID and no chip, you can call Animal Control (at 940-549-6441 in Graham) to pick up the animal.”

Social media pages are also set up to list sightings of roaming pets. Graham Texas Animal Control on Facebook is monitored by many in the Animal Control and Shelter group and can help reunite pets with their owners.

The shelter director said animal shelters are a vital part of a community. She said HSYC receives many calls from those needing help with animals in their area who do not possess a shelter.

“It really makes one stop and think. If the shelter wasn’t here, what would happen to the strays and surrenders? Dogs and cats living on the streets suffer so many horrible fates. The shelter helps keep pets safe and helps keep the community safe as well,” she said. “By keeping the number of roaming dogs down, the chances of dog bites is lowered, the chances of disease spread among animals is lowered, and the sanitation costs to the community are lowered since there are less instances of roaming animals in trash bins.”