Summerthon pet adoption event planned for Saturday
“Clean out the kennel,” is the catchphrase and the goal for Summerthon, a special pet adoption event being held Saturday by Hot Springs Animal Services and Hot Springs police.
“This is the first year they’ve done this,” Officer 1st Class Joey Williams said Tuesday. “With Chief (Jason) Stachey taking over and having a vested interest in Animal Services, we want to get these dogs and cats adopted out to good homes. Instead of just relying on people
showing up out there we want to be proactive and find them homes.”
The free, public event is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the animal shelter, located at 219 Davidson Drive. Officers and Hot Springs Animal Services staff will serve hot dogs and snacks and there will be water-themed activities for children, including a waterslide, sprinklers, and a bounce house, and prizes will be awarded.
“Animal control has always been under the authority of the police department, but recently we’ve taken on a greater partnership with them,” Cpl. Kirk Zaner said.
“They were part of our Bridging the Gap event and they participate in a lot of our in-house training. They are a part of our team and they have a real need to get these animals adopted so we’re stepping up to help as much as we can,” he said, noting several police officers and command staff will be there along with Animal Services’ staff.
“We’re just trying to let people reconnect with their animal shelter. You’d be surprised how many people that haven’t lived here long didn’t know they had an animal shelter. Or people that have been here a long time still think the animal shelter’s over at Kimery. It’s been over here since 1994,” Dan Bugg, Hot Springs Animal Services director, told The Sentinel-Record.
Williams said he was recently at the shelter working with Bugg and four people came in dropping off animals. “So not only are police officers and animal control picking up animals on a regular basis, but people are constantly coming in and dropping them off too,” he said.
Zaner said officers responded to a residence last Friday and found children and animals “living in really bad conditions.” They called the Arkansas Department of Human Services to take the children and Animal Services to take the animals.
“They took in about 15 puppies so there were multiple litters involved,” he said. “There is a huge influx of animals coming in and we definitely need people that can give them forever homes.”
On Tuesday, Animal Services reported it had about 10 cats and 25 dogs available for adoption. That number didn’t include the 15 puppies recovered Friday because they were still under observation and have to be held for eight days while court proceedings are still pending.
In addition to the activities and food, Animal Services will also offer $20 microchips for pets. “Some vets charge $70 or $80 for that, it can be expensive,” Zaner said, noting the process is painless and embeds a chip in the pet with information the owner can enter online.
“It becomes part of a database any vet in the country can access,” he said.
Williams said even those people not planning to adopt should come out to the event. “A lot of people have never been out to Animal Services. It’s a really nice facility. There are a lot of misconceptions. People can come out just to see what Animal Services does and what the facility is like.”
“If you just want to come out and show support for Animal Services you should,” Zaner said. “Let your kids play in the water and get a free hot dog. But if you are thinking of getting a dog, I encourage you to go by Animal Services first before going out to buy one.”