By Eric Killough
Freelance reporter
Special to the Tribune
The Pratt Area Humane Society (PAHS) continues to champion the welfare of animals in Pratt County. One such demonstration of that support comes by way of their Spay Neuter Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.) which has been in place for several years with funding strictly through donations.
The S.N.A.P. program is an income-based program which is available solely to Pratt County residents. Those qualifying must visit the PAHS with proof of residency, at which time they will be presented with a S.N.A.P. voucher. The voucher recipient will then call their veterinarian of choice to set up their appointment and let them know they have a S.N.A.P. voucher. When receiving a voucher there is a copay due with pricing as follows. Female dogs $70; male dogs $55; female cats $50; male cats $40. A rabies vaccine at a cost of $15 will be required before visiting the veterinarian. The PAHS pays the remaining balance related to the procedures after the copay is applied.
PAHS director Jackie Folkers said some of the challenges at the PAHS includes the influx of strays that continue to be found and brought in to the facility.
“It seems to be the ongoing battle of too many animals coming in and not enough of them being adopted,” she said. “Times are hard for everyone and when people can no longer keep their pets, and shelters are full, sometimes those animals get dumped. We have had a large uptick in animals being found in the country. It is often a death sentence for those animals unless someone can provide care and shelter for them. PAHS takes in as many as we can, but we have state guidelines we have to follow and we can only have as many animals as we can properly house, including having enough cages and runs.”
Folkers said PAHS can always use “fosters” to house animals for a short time, but fosters have to understand that sometimes they will be fostering an animal for an extended period of time. Adoptions don’t always happen right away.
While many people support PAHS, a common question asked in the community is, “how can we help.”
Folkers said she would love to have community members come and take a dog for a walk, or even a drive if the weather is cold.
“A lot of our dogs know what happens at the drive through window at the banks, Scooters Coffee, and McDonalds. They get snacks! The group of dogs we have now are medium and large breed dogs and they can get pretty rowdy here at their ‘home’, but the majority of them are very well behaved on walks and in the car,” she said. “We would also love it if anyone wanted to come out and give our dogs a spa day, including a brushing and/or a bath.”
Folkers shared some of the initiatives recently completed and those currently being pursued.
“We have several projects in the works and a few projects that have been completed thanks in part to our amazing community,” she said. “We had insulation sprayed throughout the whole shelter and I can already notice a difference, especially in the dog room. We have had a contractor get the plans going to build a patio enclosure out front for our cats to be able to go outside when the weather is nice. We have also been able to put up some wind block screen on the fence to help block some of the wind and blowing snow in the winter. We get a lot of drifting around to the back of the shelter. Some dogs love it, and others hate it. We are also working on the update to the side yard. We want to make that into a meet and greet area for potential adopters. We put that on hold until Spring and went ahead with the insulation since that is more of a priority and will hopefully make somewhat of a difference in our electric bill.”
Folkers said that overall the animal shelter is in pretty good shape.
“We do have a couple of our runs that need the cables repaired for the slide doors in the middle and we have mesh screens over the drains at the end of each run to catch any hair or debris and prevent any problems in the drains,” she said. “We really need to get the drain covers that are specifically made for the run. They are costly and 28 covers are needed. PAHS originally had the industrial grade PVC grates over the drains, but after a decade plus of wear and tear, those grates break down. I would like to have steel or cast iron, both of which are costly options. We have minor things I have been working on such as painting and filling holes in the yard and along the fence. I’ve also had the storage container pulled closer to the shelter to better utilize it for overflow storage.”
Folkers said that anyone wanting to donate to the PAHS can come by in person, mail a donation, use Venmo or PayPal links on Facebook, or call with a credit card. Hours open are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Visits on Saturday are by appointment only.
“All our adoptable animals are posted on our Facebook page, and we are working on getting our website rebuilt and active very soon,” Folkers said.
PAHS currently cares for 13 dogs, including one puppy, and eight cats: three adults, two teenagers, and three kittens.
The Pratt Area Humane Society is located at 10233 Bluestem Blvd, Pratt. For questions on S.N.A.P. eligibility please call the PAHS at (620) 672-6777.
