FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — With budgets on a tight leash, The Humane Society of the Ozarks is seeing more pets surrendered.
“People are surrendering their animals at an alarming rate. I’d say we are at a crisis right now in the animal rescue world,” HSO Executive Director Chase Jackson said.
That crisis is filling up some local shelters. But HSO is here to help shoulder the load.
“Our highest priority is helping our local shelters in the area. We pull relief off of them as they start to get overcrowded,” Jackson said.
The Humane Society is also dealing with higher costs, just like everyone else.
“It’s harder for people to afford pet food, pet care, that sort of thing, so we have definitely gotten a lot of calls needing help as well as we are always in need of donations to help continue the higher costs of vet care as time progresses,” Jackson said.
But one of the greatest needs right now is foster families.
“We are not a physical shelter. We actually house all of our animals in foster homes or with networks we’ve created with boarding facilities and vet clinics,” Jackson said.
So as more dogs are surrendered, more homes are needed. If you’d like to learn more about The Humane Society of the Ozarks, click here.