By: Steph Phenix

Associate Director & Foster

At the end of this year’s service trip I struggled to find the words to summarize my experience. How do I describe the feeling of watching the project we planned over the past 4 months finally being executed? How do I express how I felt when I watched 55 of my rescue friends come down the escalator at the airport full of excitement and energy and ready to work? Or what it’s like to get up at 5:30 am every day to load supplies for different shelters, only to be back at the hardware store at 9:00 pm that same night? Can I really describe the roller coaster of getting a key to a city right before learning a puppy I fell in love with needs to be euthanized because he is too sick? How can I explain how I found the strength to hold back tears when we all left dogs behind at the shelters, when I don’t even understand that strength myself?

Planning the trip takes an incredible amount of work by many people, all who gave up their evenings and weekends researching products, visiting shelters, planning events, and finding solutions for our shelters’ many needs. The 2019 stats blow previous years out of the water: 62 volunteers traveled on their own dime, stayed in the homes of 18 generous hosts, raised more than $78,000 and worked their tails off in 13 locations in only 6 days. They cleaned, built dog houses, painted, dug gravel paths, built benches, went door to door to talk about spay and neuter, and most of all, fell in love with dogs.

Not every dog we meet in the shelter on the trip will make it to rescue, which is tough for all of us, north and south, to accept. Last Hope K9 Rescue and our partners take as many as we can, but sometimes it seems like it will never be enough. During the trip, we focus on making sure that all dogs have an awesome day and get to go back to a clean kennel when it is over.

This trip isn’t easy. It’s physically grueling and emotionally draining, day after day. If you like to sleep in, it’s not for you. It’s long days in the sun and heat, with bugs and sometimes mice and snakes. It’s meeting many dogs you may never see again. We wear ourselves out completely, just to get up and do it again the next day.

Why? Because the dogs need us. Because we are their voice. Because we are their comfort. Because we can, and we will do it all over again next year.

Jackson County Humane Society

By: Lauren Fopiano

Assistant Director & Foster

On the last “work” day of the service trip, my van of five volunteers and about ten others traveled to Jackson County Humane Society. Jackson County is a new shelter for Last Hope; however, this shelter isn’t new to me and holds a very special place in my heart. One of my own dogs, Vinny, was adopted from this shelter seven years ago. Vinny spent the first nine months of his life living in this shelter before he was adopted by me and transported up North. I was so excited to get to Jackson County and meet the women, Rita and Ann, who saved Vinny when he and his littermates were dumped in front of the shelter back in July 2011. I wish I could say this is a rare occurrence; however, this is the fate of many litters of puppies in Arkansas where spaying/neutering dogs isn’t commonplace. Vinny and his siblings were lucky that their “owner” abandoned them in front of a shelter and not in a ditch or worse, which is also a common fate faced by unwanted puppies in this state.

Upon arrival, I leapt out of our van to meet Ann and Rita in front of the shelter. I gave them the biggest hugs and we walked inside to meet the rest of the volunteers waiting in the back of the shelter. As I entered the building through the front office and down the rows of dogs in kennels, I was overwhelmed. There were so many dogs here. Between the front building and barn out back there are approximately 70 dogs that reside at Jackson County. I gave them a smile as we walked through the row of kennels and out to the back where I was greeted by nine of the most adorable terrier pups I have ever seen. Our group went over the projects for the day and divided into smaller groups to tackle our assigned tasks.

My team was assigned to cleaning out the front of the shelter – the office, puppy room, and hallways. The shelter is overrun with mice due to the condition of the building and, as you can imagine, there were piles and piles of mice feces and urine everywhere. Due to lack of resources, the condition of the physical shelter building is in rough shape and, thus, has become home to hundreds of mice. You can hear the mice squealing in the ceiling and walls and see them under every table, chair, bin, and crevice. Everything in the front of the building was moved and put outside so we could thoroughly scrub the floors and walls with a bleach solution. While we were cleaning, the other teams worked on setting up outdoor kennels, repairing fencing, and cleaning kennels in the back barn. Since we had a smaller group of volunteers and there was so much to be done, we didn’t get to tackle everything on our project list but we did our best.

Towards the end of the day, we spent time with as many dogs as we possibly could. As a lover of all things small, I was immediately drawn to a Chihuahua mix named Oscar. Oscar wasn’t afraid of anything and confidently marched around the yard on his leash. After spending some time with him, I put him back in his kennel and visited with another dog that pulled at my heart strings, Sister. Sister is about as a sweet as they come and was so happy to receive extra affection and belly scratches. This girl is heartworm positive – a completely preventable disease that she got due to human neglect – and recently received her third injection to rid her body of these nasty parasites. This girl completely stole my heart and I hope that she will be able to travel to Boston once she kicks those nasty worms and is ready to be adopted.

By the end of the day, my feelings had drifted towards appreciation and motivation. Appreciation for Rita and Ann – two of the only full-time volunteers that dedicate their time to the dogs at Jackson County and truly love each and every one of these 70 dogs – and the work they have accomplished. And motivation – to work with this shelter to help transport more of their dogs up north and tackle more projects on our next service trip – and try to repay them for what they did for Vinny and countless other dogs.

Monticello

By: Stephanie Amancio

Foster & Volunteer

As I looked out the van window at the bluest sky I had seen in since our arrival in Arkansas four days earlier, I couldn’t be sure if I was looking at a beautiful hue of blue or if it was because we thought the hardest day, and shelter visit, of the trip was behind us. Unbeknownst to me, this would be the hardest day. Monticello is a small city of less than 10,000 residents located in Southeast Arkansas where the median income is $25,000.

The morning started off with a usual coffee run and chatting excitedly about the day ahead with my van mates. We talked about how this was our last shelter visit and how there wasn’t a lot of manual labor to do at this location, so we were all excited to cuddle and love as many dogs as we could.

As we pulled up to the Monticello shelter, we were met with a small building that looks like an old autobody shop, including two large garage-style doors on either side of the building. The volunteers have been doing their best to try to make it as welcoming as possible as there were unfinished paintings on its exterior walls. When we exited the van, we were greeted by the enthusiastic and positive women who run the shelter and use their heart and gut to make the heaviest of decisions more often than I like to think about. This shelter is near and dear to my heart because my own foster fail was saved by one of these women, Kelly, and to this day a piece of her heart belongs to him.

After getting our assignments, I entered the building and was stunned by what I saw. 10-12 dogs in large, makeshift kennels made out of chainlink fencing with sharp wiring or bungee cords used to keep the “doors” shut. The kennels that were shorter in height had large wood pieces placed on top to keep the dogs from jumping out. Now, I think its important to note that Last Hope K9 has pledged funds to this shelter specifically to have a professional come out and build safe, actual kennels where these dogs can reside.

Even after all that these dogs have been through, they were all incredibly sweet. While all the dogs were bathed and attended to, there were a few that really pulled at my heart strings.

There were two enormous Great Pyrenees siblings in the same kennel who had recently come for the second time in a year from a hoarding/breeding situation and had other siblings still at home. These poor dogs were so covered in ticks it took multiple people to check for them all. There was another dog with nails so long they had grown around and embedded themselves in the paw pad. The neglect of these dogs by their “owners” had me choked up.

There was a beautiful pitbull with the biggest blockhead I’ve ever seen named Big Dub. This is the kind of dog that would make even the biggest dog lover wince in fear if he was running towards them just because of the shear size of him. However, Big Dub should be named Big Softy because of his gentle disposition. When he was introduced to a puppy, he gleefully took a play stance and licked the puppy’s face in the utmost happiness. Yet another dog was so terrified it took hours for her to warm up to us.

Then there was Mama. Mama was medium white and brown pittie mix that has clearly been used for an extensive breeding operation. Her fur was patchy, skin was red and raw, her nipples so overly used and infected that they hung to the floor. Now, I had witnessed neglected and abused dogs during this trip, but Mama’s case was by far the worst. Her teeth were brown and ground down, ears were piled up with dirt and filth. This is the reality of dog breeding. It’s likely that Mama had never seen the sun or felt the grass on her feet before she was dumped at the shelter when she was no longer of any use to her “owners”. After testing her with other dogs, we knew there wasn’t anything we would be able to do for her and with her medical and dog-related behavioral issues, rescuing her just wouldn’t be an option. The right thing to do in this particular case was to stop her suffering by euthanasia, unfortunately. A few of our volunteers decided that even though we couldn’t save her, we could give her the best day of what was likely a lonely, miserable life. Mama got a new name, Soft Taco. She also got to eat her heart out with roast beef sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, and even ice cream. She got to enter a house for likely the first time ever, sleep in a comfy bed, and took turns snuggling with each of the volunteers. While saying goodbye to Soft Taco was hard, it would have been harder to let her deteriorate and suffer in a shelter.

As my van mates and I drove back to our respective host’s residences, we saw the unimaginable. There was a dead dog that had clearly been dumped, lying in the middle of the highway. The image of the dog with all four legs sprawled out, but laying on its side with it’s bloated body is burned into my brain and will haunt me the rest of my life. As I swerved to miss it, I also pulled over to the side so I could cry. My tears weren’t just sadness for the unfortunate death of this dog, but anger at the people who did this, anger at myself for not being able to prevent this, and most of all confusion of how someone could treat another living thing so horribly.

Today was the day I learned that I can’t save them all. It’s the day that I thank the universe that I do not have to be the one to choose which ones can live and which ones have to die. It’s the day I learned that by some slim chance, my dogs got out and I need to be thankful for that everyday. It’s the day I chose to turn my sadness and anger into action. It’s the day I chose to continue to dedicate my life to helping as many dogs as I can because they deserve more than this… we all deserve more.

Stuttgart Group 2

By: Judy Boxer

Foster & Volunteer

Today a smaller group went to Stuttgart Animal Shelter to finish up what the first group had started. We were met by the gorgeous mural created the day before by the first group of Last Hope volunteers. I had the more mundane job of painting the beams and poles around the mural.

Once again we were met with warm southern hospitality from the grateful workers and locals at the shelter. A group of local residents came over after church to pitch in on the work. Even the Mayor stopped by to thank us!

Today’s group built a run outside for the dogs, painted the puppy room and some kennels, drilled a drain in the floor (a very thick concrete floor), and finished up lots of other tasks from the day before, such as fence installation. The Animal Control Officer went home to get her tractor to aid in the fence installation, making that back breaking work a whole lot easier! And of course – we held dogs (the best job around!) while other volunteers worked in their kennels.

This was my first Service Trip with Last Hope K9, and I’m going home a changed person. The work being done by all of the volunteers is inspiring, although the need feels endless. Now I understand what it means to say that fostering or adopting a dog is saving a life.

Warren

By: Kelli Leahy

Executive Director

Day 4 of the 2019 LHK9 service trip brought us to one of my favorite partner shelters, the Warren Animal Shelter in Warren, AR. This is an outdoor shelter located next to the town trash compactor with a handful of kennels and a team of incredible volunteers.

Our day was a busy one, washing dogs, cleaning and scrubbing kennels and assembling insulated dog houses.

I feel like this goes without saying, but all of the dogs at Warren Animal Control were an absolute delight, truly amazing beings. Our volunteers had a wonderful time spending the day with these babies relaxing in the shade while the pups dined on bully sticks.

My nephew may be small but he has a giant heart and a giant love for dogs. Each year he looks forward to our service trip, loving the pictures, videos and stories. He is also a creative little guy and loves when I message him from the trip asking for help with a dog name.

As a Labrador Retriever and Labrador Retriever mix girl, one nameless pup instantly stole my heart and I just had to ask my nephew for name inspiration. He chose ‘Dash’, after a character from his favorite show Paw Patrol. I added my nephew’s last name and with that, ‘Dash Benner’ was welcomed into the Last Hope family. My nephew was thrilled and is hoping Dash’s new family will keep his last name.

I love sharing this story because in the long haul, education is critical to continuing our mission. Not just educating adults, but educating children as well. Our children are the next generation of rescuers (or, as we not-so-jokingly say, fosters in training!), they will follow in our footsteps and continue our work. Teaching children the importance of rescuing and caring for homeless, abused and neglected animals will (I hope and I pray) someday get us to a time when we no longer need to rescue. A time when all dogs have a loving family and the happily FURever after they deserve.

“My mission is to rescue. My dream is that one day, I won’t have to.”

Stuttgart Animal Shelter

By: Meg Ferguson

Foster & Volunteer

Today our group of 17 volunteers visited the Stuttgart Animal Shelter. This shelter is on the smaller side with 7 kennels and a puppy room. The shelter was not at capacity, however, as the shelter lead stated, they can go from “zero to hero” overnight.

One amazing woman I met on our visit was Susie. She recently retired and has now dedicated her time to helping the shelter thrive. She has solely increased the number of local adoptions and been great with getting the shelter some publicity. Susie, along with our volunteers, completed tasks today such as replacing the latches on all of the kennels, installing new doggie doors so dogs can enjoy time outside, extensive yard work, assembling and installing new shelving, washing all the dogs, create a mural on the front and side of the building, replacing sheet metal on the side of the shelter and repairing thresholds.

I was lucky enough to meet and get to know Cisco. Cisco is a 9 year old chihuahua/terrier mix who was recently surrendered to the shelter. His skin is in terrible condition and it will take some time and love to get him back to health. Despite how uncomfortable Cisco was, he still had an amazing spirit and was loving all of the attention from anyone he met. Cisco was lucky enough to find an amazing foster who will help him heal and continue his journey to MA. The fact of the matter is that many dogs are not this lucky.

It was so great to help out our southern partners in any way possible and I hope to return next year to do even more!

Bald Knob Group 1

By: Judy Boxer

Foster & Volunteer

The Bald Knob shelter is a small shelter at the end of a small road deep in the country, but it’s run by an Animal Control Officer and an assistant ACO with a big heart and a lot of energy. The local volunteers welcomed us with southern hospitality and lots of food and many thank you’s. Even the Bald Knob Chief of Police stopped by to thank us. Bald Knob was one of Last Hope’s first Arkansas shelters, and it’s come a long way with lots of help from Last Hope and Lori Privett, Last Hope’s Arkansas liaison for the shelter.

A large group of Last Hope volunteers accomplished a very ambitious list of projects. Washing dogs, installing plexiglass panels to prevent the dogs from chewing on the metal fencing, fixing gaps in the fence, installing new shelving to replace old rusted shelving, setting up a new desk and file cabinet, assembling and installing special Kuranda dog beds, heart worm testing the dogs, and LOTS of cleaning. We also installed Dig Defense, a special fence addition that keeps dogs from digging under the fence – which takes incredible strength and perseverance to install. Lastly – we held and played with lots of dogs and puppies while their kennels were cleaned and painted.

I spent most of the day with Becky Goodwin, an Arkansas foster for Last Hope, washing many very large strong dogs (and I have the scratches and sore muscles to prove it!) We had help from Devon, the ACO and other Bald Knob volunteers lifting the heavy dogs in to the tub.

It was inspiring to see a large group work so hard with so much energy and accomplish so much and make such a difference to the dogs, shelter workers and volunteers. The many generous donors that make this work possible should know what a difference they make!

And here are some adorable puppies rescued by the shelter, just because …

Coming Soon – Pine Bluff Group 2

By: Kelli Leahy

Executive Director

More than 60 volunteers, more than $77,000 raised, all in support of one mission: Improve the lives of Arkansas shelters dogs.

Day 3 of the 2019 LHK9 Annual Service trip brought one group of volunteers to Pine Bluff Animal Control in Pine Bluff, AR. We started our day by scrubbing and bleaching kennels and heart worm testing and vaccinating dogs. Next, after giving the dogs a quick bath, we had the opportunity to spend one-on-one outside time with the dogs showering them with love, treats and affection while they basked in the warm Arkansas sun.

Another group of volunteers (myself included!) spent the day with two southern dog behavioral experts who trained us perform behavioral evaluations. My fellow volunteers and I will bring this knowledge back north to enable us to better aid and support local shelter dogs and local owner surrenders.

While the shelter dogs are amazing, the dedicated and selfless shelter volunteers who pour their hearts and souls into their work with these babies are equally amazing. They are WONDER WOMEN!! I could talk for days about everything these incredible humans do day in and day out, but I wanted to share an example that I witnessed personally.

This little yellow lab puppy was struggling with shelter life, and after a difficult night, one of the incredible shelter leads scooped the puppy up and headed straight to the vet. Knowing the puppy could continue struggling if brought back to the shelter environment, this foster mom brought the puppy back to her home for close observation and much TLC.

Speaking of puppies…its puppy season…and oh the puppies!

The wise Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I always try to focus on the positive and heart lifting side of rescue, both the human side and the canine side, because when odds are stacked high it’s the success stories that fill my heart and keep me going. But, there are also sad realities and I think it’s important for us to acknowledge these realities. The reality is that some of the dogs we met on Saturday won’t make it out of the shelter. They will never get their freedom rides filled with promise of a new and brighter future.

And this is one of the many reasons why education and advocacy are critically important. We must speak for the voiceless and educate about the plight of shelter dogs, not just in Arkansas, but everywhere in this country and around the world. Whether you choose to work with Last Hope, another reputable organization or your local shelter, please choose to adopt. Please choose to save a life. And until then…

West Memphis Shelter

By: Maura Tutty

Senior Coordinator & Foster

Today started at transport, where our southern foster partners put their foster pups and part of their hearts on the bus headed to Boston. It’s so awe-inspiring to watch them confidently put their fosters on the bus sending them closer to their forever families.

Next, we traveled two hours east to visit our friends at the West Memphis Animal Shelter. When we travel to a shelter, there is always a level of excitement and anticipation. Today was no different. On a personal level, this was where my recent “foster fail”, Stanley, spent three months before getting his shelter break. And for anyone that follows their Instagram page (if you don’t, you should – @westmemphisanimalshelter), you all are familiar with Trent and Kerry and their fun and creative videos and posts. We were all really pumped to see them in person!

As we walked out back to meet them, that same energy from their posts was palpable – you could feel the love for the dogs immediately. The entire facility was clean and well- kept. They were even making treat-filled kongs for the dogs!

The team spent the day bathing the dogs, painting part of the outside of the main building, and providing some shade for one of the outdoor runs. We finished off the day with some of the team participating in a signature Trent video that highlighted a particular dog -in this case it was sweet Bee Gee.

As we were leaving today, we also got the very special honor of giving EIGHT pups their shelter breaks and delivering them to their new fosters. It was the perfect end to a really positive day.

Kensett Animal Shelter

By: Lindsay LaRocca

Board Member & Coordinator

It’s been a whirlwind 7 years of volunteering with LHK9 Rescue. This 2019 trip marks my 5th time to Arkansas and 4th service trip. I’ve been fortunate to meet angels on earth, our southern fosters & volunteers. They put in hours upon hours of demanding work taking care of all the pups and trying to help keep the shelters in shape, a true labor of love.

When we visit the same shelter year after year, we get to see substantial progress, and it makes my heart happy to physically see the impact that we have as a whole. This is one of the reasons I get so excited to visit a new shelter, because I know we’ll have a lasting impact over the next few years. When I heard I was on the schedule to work at Kensett, I was elated!!

Kensett, Arkansas is home to 1,600 people and their animal shelter is located at the city’s water treatment facility. Like many rural shelters, Kensett’s is no different. It is tucked away down a dirt path, surrounded by water. Not necessarily the easiest or best spot for folks to meet adoptable dogs.

When I arrived at the shelter, I was greeted by 5 faces demanding immediate attention. Rooster the hound mix, Addy the pit mix, Wayland the purebred Rottweiler, Hank the boxer mix and Shakespeare the cattle dog mix.

To give a little perspective, Hank was surrendered by a waste management worker. So now, every day when this man drives to work, he passes his dog sitting in an outdoor kennel, which is actually more than he ever had before.

To give a little perspective, Hank was surrendered by a waste management worker. So now, every day when this man drives to work, he passes his dog sitting in an outdoor kennel, which is actually more than he ever had before.

Emotionally, it was hard day; learning Hank’s story, watching little Rooster, shake his tick-filled ears, setting eyes on Shakespeare a timid pup, who has been there for 8 months with no potential adopters, and realizing that Addy has zero chance of getting Heartworm treatment unless we can pull her from the shelter after we find a foster.

It was a tough day, physically, trying to figure out how to make this tiny outdoor shelter, safer and cleaner. With recent Parvo outbreaks, cleaning was our number one priority!

I’m so thankful for the team of people that worked at Kensett. Brandon, the ACO, was so thankful for our help and Lori, our shelter liaison couldn’t have given us more thankful squeezes. We may not have accomplished everything we wanted, but we gave them a pretty awesome fresh start! It’s amazing want a clean environment and fresh coat of paint can do to lift everyone’s spirits!

Nikki and I both run dog businesses and have extensive knowledge on proper cleaning protocols so we showed the ACO how to clean and spray the entire area with a bleach solution to hopefully keep disease at bay.

Other projects for the day included insulating the supply room, hanging shelving, painting the inside and outside, building 5 insulated dog houses, walking & bathing the pups, Heartworm resting two of the crew, building a bakers rack and organizing brand new supplies!

I left the shelter with a small sunburn, paint splattered boots, fiberglass in my hair, a very full heart and a longing to do more. Kensett, we’ll be back for you next year!

Pine Bluff Group 1

By: Nicholina Gioiosa

Volunteer

This year at Pine Bluff, we didn’t go all together as a group like we have in the past; instead we separated into groups over two days! Projects that were planned for Friday at Pine Bluff were: installing acoustic panels so the barking doesn’t reverberate off the walls increasing the stress and contagious barking of all the others dogs, building outdoor benches, washing towels and organizing the laundry room, cleaning the cat room, deep cleaning and sanitizing the dog kennels, bathing the dogs, and of course holding the puppies that aren’t allowed to touch the ground because they haven’t received all their shots.

This is my second service trip and my second time going to Pine Bluff, so I knew what I was walking into that day for my assigned duties: roughly a hundred dogs in kennels that would all need baths while their kennels were being cleaned and acoustic panels were being installed. However, nothing could prepare me for the emotional turmoil I felt that day.

The second dog I took out of the kennel was a 12 week old puppy that I named Mooshoo; you could tell that this little nugget was underweight and that something was off about her, but I assumed that she just was underweight at intake. As I was heading over to the bath station, I noticed yellowish-green mucous dripping from her nose. I checked in with the medical team who did an evaluation of her. They noticed she had discolored teeth and her gums were almost white. I immediately knew that white gums meant dehydration and/or not enough oxygen flow. What the medical team told me that I didn’t know was that these were all signs of distemper – an extremely contagious and likely fatal disease. At that point I thought that we would be able to get Mooshoo the right medicine that would treat her, but boy was I wrong. The disease progressed too far. Then came the dreadful words that I never want to hear: she’ll need to be euthanized. My heart immediately broke for her. I held that puppy in my arms for over two hours, showering her with love and my tears, which would be the rest of her short life. Mooshoo may not have known love for the first 12 weeks of her life, but I would be damned if I didn’t give her all the love, care, and hugs and kisses that she deserved for those few hours.

Mooshoo’s story is one that happens all too often at shelters throughout Arkansas (and in many other states). Contagious and fatal diseases like distemper can be 100% preventable with proper vaccinations. Mooshoo’s death could have been prevented. Mooshoo could be living her best life right now. But no, somewhere out there some person decided to be careless and not spay their dog. That same careless person decided it was not important to vaccinate those puppies that came from that momma dog. Carelessness results in death. Care for and love your dogs: get them spayed/neutered, vaccinate them and for the love of all things adopt don’t shop!

Camden Shelter

By: Sasha Prasad

Foster & Volunteer

Camden is a city of 13,000 people in Southern Arkansas. There are two shelters within the city limits of Camden – the “city” shelter and the “country” shelter. Our group of volunteers split the day between both shelters, and my group spent the day at Camden City Shelter with the amazing ACO Jennifer Pinson. Jen has only been the ACO for one month but she’s already making a significant impact. She no longer adopts dogs out before they are spayed and neutered and has not euthanized due to lack of space, a trend she hopes to continue. So far this year, 106 of Camden City Shelters’ dogs have ended up in rescue, including H&P Animal Alliance, one of Last Hope K9 Rescue’s southern partners.

Today, the Last Hope volunteers spent 5 hours at the shelter with 25 volunteers and completed a wide range of shelter improvement projects, including:

• Bathed and groomed the dogs
• Painted the exterior of the shelter and outer kennels
• Built and installed kennel cover on an outdoor run
• Deep cleaned and organized storage areas
• Added shelving for additional storage
• Mounted baby gates for puppy pens
• Installed a gutter
• Installed Kool Kurtains

These projects were only possible due to the generous donations made to LHK9 over the last two months. It was amazing to see how much the staff and volunteers cared about the dogs at Camden City Shelter and I’m grateful that we could help make life at least a little easier for the dogs at Camden City Shelter and for the amazing people who care for them.

Hazen Shelter

By: Sara Corey

Foster & Volunteer

If you were driving down the road trying to find the Hazen shelter, you would hardly believe it was a shelter at all. From first glance it just looks like a couple of small structures, perhaps attached to a water facility or something. As you pull up, you can hardly imagine it houses dogs at all. It’s certainly not your classic idea of an animal shelter.

People can come here to surrender dogs they no longer are willing (or able) to care for, or give shelter to those who have been found as strays. There’s no office, no regular staff, just a handful of dedicated people who come once a day to see them, clean their kennels and give them food and water. I have heard that at one point, it was just 6 kennels in a row without shelter from the elements . After working with rescue groups, the dogs now have roofing, cooling mats, dog houses, adequate shelter and much more to get them through their long days of waiting.

Our group arrived bright and early this morning with six dogs awaiting our arrival. Most were excited, jumping up and pressing their paws and noses through the chain link for a chance at love, affection and attention. Others nervously barked or hid at the sight of dozens of eager volunteers ready to step in to help.

There were a number of projects going on, a volunteer worked to dig a trench to create a gravel path to the lock box avoiding flooding and mud. Others worked with the dogs giving them baths and making toys for them. A fan was set up to allow the dogs to have cooler temperatures during the hot summer days.

I had such a wonderful time working with like minded people, volunteering our time to give the dogs the best that we can. It’s amazing how much this shelter evolved and continues to improve every year.

Hazen Shelter (Door-to-Door Promo of Free Spay and Neuter Clinic)

By: Amanda Cunningham 

Foster & Volunteer

“Hello Hazen residents! I am Amanda and I am here to chat with you about having your dog fixed and offer you an opportunity to have the procedure performed for free!” That was supposed to be the start to many conversations I was supposed to have with one of the 1,637 people living in the 3.4 square mile town of Hazen, Arkansas.

Surprise! There were 6 dogs at the Hazen shelter today (where there was supposed to be none) after the Animal Control Officer posted to his page telling people they had a chance to surrender their dogs as there was a rescue here doing work. So the start to our “Fix your pets, reduce overpopulation so we don’t have to rescue 80 dogs from Hazen again this year” door-to-door extravaganza was put on hold for a bit. After the dogs were heartworm tested and left with the other lovely volunteers we were off!

Barry (aka Bob Barker’s #1 fan) was my partner in crime and we weren’t sure what to expect as we set out. Some homeowners peered out from their partially cracked doors or suspiciously stared at us as they drove by (don’t worry I still gave each of them a friendly wave). “What are these two doing out here on a Thursday morning?” they mused. “What are they selling? Religion? Politics? Oh jeez, worse, they are crazy people from Boston trying to get me to fix my dog!”

After 2 hours of walking in our assigned quadrant we had stopped at many houses and hung flyers on doorknobs, but only spoke with a handful people. Much to our delight many of the dog owners that we did speak with told us how their dogs were already neutered, which earned them an enthusiastic – “thank you for being part of the solution!”

Two things were really weighing heavy on our minds as we canvassed our quadrant:

1) How had NO ONE, I mean no one, mentioned the Bob Barker Price is Right t-shirt that Barry was wearing? I suggested that we weave Bob into our pitch: “We are from California and Bob Barker sent us, he is really concerned with what he has heard about dog overpopulation in Hazen”. Barry wasn’t having it though; he wanted a holistic exchange regarding his shirt. Finally as our lunch break drew near Barry’s shirt purchase finally paid for itself when a resident pointed at his shirt and said “Bob Barker, spay and neuter your pets!” Sweet vindication.

2) Why does every house in Hazen Arkansas have a “fake” door? All these houses with two, sometimes three doors, why? Where do we knock? Where do we leave the flyer? We were starting to become pros at spotting a “fake” door quickly now, we were getting into our groove.

Unfortunately our afternoon canvassing was called off due to the severe rain storms. But, we had good news! By 2:30pm the efforts of the canvasing team (Amanda, Andrea, Barry, Claudia, Laura, Lauren and Melanie) had led to 10 dogs already scheduled for surgery! 10 dogs means a potential for 670,000 less dogs roaming Hazen over the next 6 years. Wow. Quite a good outcome for this pilot program! Here’s to hoping the other 40 free surgeries get scheduled soon!