[Animals] Benton Animal Services has increase of adoptions with online campaign

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Benton Animal Services has seen an increased number of adoptions over the past month, thanks to an online campaign for short-term foster care. Volunteer Susan Taylor kicked off the initiative, recruiting local businesses and leaders to spread the word about how many dogs were in danger of being hurt during the recent cold snap. “I was worried about the winter weather and felt like the shelter staff would appreciate some help in keeping their dogs safe and warm. The facility's ground holds moisture, and I knew the outdoor kennel dogs needed to have a dry space,” Taylor said. “As the temperatures continued to drop, I became more worried and decided I could do more than blankets and beds and covering the kennels with canvas. I asked Mallori Howard, Animal Services Manager], if short-term fosters were an option, she said yes, and the rest is animal rescue history.” The call went out on Jan. 4. By Jan. 8, 28 out of 62 dogs had been placed in foster care. Howard said the effects have been long-lasting. “The short-term fostering was very successful. First, it helped dogs get out of the shelter's outdoor kennels during the extreme cold temperatures we had and secondly, it helped us learn more about the animals. Foster families were able to tell us if the animal was house-trained and how it acted in a home environment,” Howard said. “It is often hard to learn a dog's true personality in the shelter setting. It was also so successful because the foster families reached out to their families, friends, and social media to help promote the dog for adoption. We also had several foster fails, where the foster family adopted the dog themselves. The short term fostering has been great so we can learn more about the pet, the pet can be in a home, and the pet still spends some time at the shelter and adoption events to meet potential adopters.” Of the 28 dogs placed in short-term foster care, 17 found permanent homes. Howard said that animal services staff have been inspired by the process. “I hope to continue to launch dogs out for short-term fosters in the future where people can foster a dog for 30 days or less, and either return the dog to the shelter if it is not adopted and switch out so our longer-term dogs will have time outside the shelter and we can launch them for adoption in new ways,” she said.With the threat of extreme weather now passed, the amount of volunteer fosters has decreased. However, Howard said that the online campaign has sparked interest in volunteering in other ways, such as walking the dogs. “We stay full and have limited staff. Doggy day out and fostering are great, but we also encourage people to come out and help us walk and interact with the dogs,” she said. “Even if it is just 30 minutes, that might be the only time that dog is outside the kennel that day.” Howard said another way residents can help the shelter is by ensuring pets stay with their owners. She said the staff do everything they can to keep dogs where they belong, even if they have run away from home. “We bring in animals almost every day. One way the city can help is to microchip your animal. The shelter offers free microchipping for those in the city of Benton. To schedule an appointment, residents need to contact the shelter at 501-776-5972,” Howard said. “Second, we encourage people to reclaim their pet. We understand it can be pricey, but there are ways we can assist with the payment, so we encourage pet owners not to be deterred from reclaiming pets because of reclaim fees.”

https://www.bentoncourier.com/news/benton-animal-services-has-increase-of-adoptions-with-online-campaign/article_f43e8d7c-df56-11ef-8418-0fe71b6cffc1.html