Lost Pets Fill Washington County Animal Shelter
By: Marissa Stevens, KNWA-TV, Fayetteville
Updated: September 27, 2012
The Washington County Animal Shelter opened just a week ago and is already at capacity, with lost pets filling the kennels.
"I knew that we were going to have quite a few animals coming in because we were new, but I was just surprised at the amount of animals that have come in with collars, well-groomed... I know they're somebody's pet," said Washington County Animal Shelter Director Shonna Harvey.
Harvey said the majority of the dogs and several cats belong to somebody.
"They're just, you know, sad, want to sleep a lot. We like to give them lots of attention and lots of treats but nothing like home," she says.
Many have collars and microchips, but out-of-date information is keeping them away from home.
"They're groomed, they have collars on, some of them have microchips, and the microchip information has not been updated so we're not able to get a hold of them... If it transfers ownership or if you move you just need to contact the company where the chip is from and just update that information through them," explains Harvey.
New identification tags are also important.
"I would say at least every six months just go have a new one made... If the animal has identification on, we're going to hold that animal for 10 days and do our best to try to find that owner," she says.
So Harvey wants to spread the word, and reunite owners with their faithful companions.
"We know that these are somebody's pets and we just want them to be able to come pick up their pets," says Harvey.
The shelter is currently working on creating a Facebook page so they can post pictures of lost pets that have been brought to the shelter, but as of now they have volunteers posting flyers.
If you lost your pet, Harvey said you can give the shelter a call or swing by.
Click here to find the address, phone number, location, hours of operation and other contact information for the shelter.
Click here to watch this report.
"I knew that we were going to have quite a few animals coming in because we were new, but I was just surprised at the amount of animals that have come in with collars, well-groomed... I know they're somebody's pet," said Washington County Animal Shelter Director Shonna Harvey.
Harvey said the majority of the dogs and several cats belong to somebody.
"They're just, you know, sad, want to sleep a lot. We like to give them lots of attention and lots of treats but nothing like home," she says.
Many have collars and microchips, but out-of-date information is keeping them away from home.
"They're groomed, they have collars on, some of them have microchips, and the microchip information has not been updated so we're not able to get a hold of them... If it transfers ownership or if you move you just need to contact the company where the chip is from and just update that information through them," explains Harvey.
New identification tags are also important.
"I would say at least every six months just go have a new one made... If the animal has identification on, we're going to hold that animal for 10 days and do our best to try to find that owner," she says.
So Harvey wants to spread the word, and reunite owners with their faithful companions.
"We know that these are somebody's pets and we just want them to be able to come pick up their pets," says Harvey.
The shelter is currently working on creating a Facebook page so they can post pictures of lost pets that have been brought to the shelter, but as of now they have volunteers posting flyers.
If you lost your pet, Harvey said you can give the shelter a call or swing by.
Click here to find the address, phone number, location, hours of operation and other contact information for the shelter.
Click here to watch this report.
