‘The Little Shelter that Could’

The Stephens County Animal Welfare Center takes in unwanted and homeless animals from around the Breckenridge area and aims to set up these pets with new, loving homes. While the animals all receive proper care, the task of taking care of the animals can be a daunting one.

Self-dubbed the “little shelter that could,” the SCAWC is a non-profit shelter that takes in dogs and cats from all walks of life who need a home. Along with this, they preach a message to the community about the importance of taking care of animals and not throwing them away because they are inconvenient.

“Animals have become disposable to some people,” President Kathy O’Shields stated. “They continue to allow their animals to run loose, attack and kill other animals, bite people and have unwanted litters of puppies and kittens.”

The shelter offers a variety of treatments for the animals they house. This includes medical treatment, shots and heartworm tests, medications, foster homes and grooming.

They also care and feed for fostered animals who are not housed within the shelter, handle all adoptions that come through them, help transport animals to homes out of state, are a contact for SPCA transfers and coordinate with other rescue groups.

However, due to the volume of animals, providing care can be a hard task to fulfill at times. The shelter fills up throughout the year and has been no stranger to having upwards to 80 dogs and 40 cats at one time. Animal control officers said this is usually around the spring or fall when the animals breed and the owners cannot get rid of the puppies or kittens. They then will give them to the shelter. Currently, the shelter sits at almost 60 dogs and about 20 cats. Their capacity is 35 dogs and 20 cats.

“Unfortunately, we are staying past capacity,” O’Shields stated. “We are asking people to please spay and neuter and please think before you add a pet to your household. Pets should be a member of your family and not just gotten rid of when you become tired of it.”

To adopt, you can go online or stop by the shelter and fill out a form. They will check references and other information to confirm the person applying is responsible. This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a week. They also require new owners to have their adopted pet spayed or neutered within 30 days of adoption.

Along with the importance of taking care of animals, O’Shields also urges residents to follow the ordinances put in place, which includes spaying or neutering, rabies vaccines and making sure the animals are tagged.

While the shelter does take care of loose and stray animals, as well as help them find homes, they also enforce ordinances that involve animals and pets. Those at the shelter estimate they write about 300 tickets a year. The top items they write tickets for include failure to restrain an animal, residents participating in selling, grooming, breeding or boarding without a valid permit, not spaying or neutering a dog over the age of six months, not licensing a dog that is over four months and not getting their dog a rabies vaccination.

One thing emphasized, however, is that it is a community effort. Breckenridge City Manager Andy McCuistion said they work with the shelter very closely and spoke highly of their efforts, as well as O’Shields personally. He added there have been several improvements made through the help of the city and the humane society, including the installation of insulation to help keep the animals cool in the heat.

“We keep having people problems in town, not animal problems,” McCuistion said. “These people don’t take care of their animals. They don’t get their shots, don’t get tags …. They’re not taking care of them.”

Dana McKelvain, who has been involved with the animal shelter in the past and has several success stories involving pairing dogs with owners, as well as helping dogs recover from various issues such as heartworms, echoed similar sentiments and praised the overall work of the shelter, the city and the county. She called McCuistion a huge help, adding without their work they would not have as much success in taking care and getting animals to good owners.

Overall, those at the shelter want the community to take care of their animals and take them through the proper treatments to ensure no unwanted animals are had, and all animals remain safe and healthy.

“We are all doing our best to remain as close to “no kill” as possible, but the irresponsible pet owners are making that really hard to maintain,” O’Shields stated. “Please help us to stop so many unwanted animals in the community. Please be a responsible pet owner.”

To learn more about the shelter or their adoption policy, contact them at 254-559-1194.