Concerned neighbor sends newspaper to investigate

CLEAR THE SHELTERS

By Abigail Isett

Last week, White Rock Lake Weekly received a call from a concerned citizen that the SPCA of Texas off of I-30 was dealing with an air conditioning outage. With fear that they could be using wet fans, which can cause distemper, I went down to the Dallas location to check it out. Luckily, the AC was working correctly, and the animals seemed to be comfortable. However, the facility appeared to be near capacity. 

The SPCA of North Texas has housed thousands of animals throughout the years, and 813 animals currently call it home. The organization plays a huge role in the well-being of our furry friends, taking in stray animals from all over Dallas and Ellis counties, as well as transfers from surrounding animal shelters and alumni surrenders.

Caring for hundreds of animals at a time is costly, time consuming and depletes resources quickly. The SPCA partners with Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a well-respected pet food company proven to support the better health of animals. This company provides a momentous discount on high-quality pet food to ensure that the animals get the nutrients they need. Hill’s Pet Nutrition also offers prescription food that the SPCA veterinarians are able to prescribe to the animals that have certain dietary needs. However, properly caring for these animals does not stop at their diet.

The SPCA is in continual need of supplies such as towels, trash bags, shampoos, nail clippers and everything in between. People are able to make direct supply donations at spca.org/wishlist. Here, there are options to select exactly how one might wish to donate. 

Apart from this, The SPCA of Texas holds drive-thru pet pantries for food and supplies on the third Sunday of each month at the Dallas location.

Citizens have many options when it comes to how they can help. By visiting the SPCA website, direct cash donations can be made and are used towards spays, basic healthcare and necessary supplies needed to care for the animals.

Arguably, the most valuable donation people can make is their time. New volunteers benefit the shelter, the current volunteers and, more importantly, the animals and their potential for future homes. By interacting with people, the animals are able to become more personable and relaxed which exponentially increases their chances of being adopted. 

According to Becky Adamietz, manager of Public Relations at the SPCA of Texas, volunteers reported they gain a greater sense of self-worth and happiness when seeing the results of working with the animals. 

Fostering is also a great way for citizens to help out. The SPCA provides those who wish to foster an animal with everything necessary to care for their temporary pets at no cost. Food, bedding, toys and everything else needed are given to those who volunteer a loving home for the animals. 

While it was nice to see that the animals at the SPCA have a stable place to stay, the SPCA relies on the community’s support to carry out all their efforts in saving the lives of these animals. The SPCA is currently holding its “Clear the Shelters” annual event. For more information, visit cleartheshelters.com.