No place like …
Animal-services director encourages ‘mindset change’ to get pets back home
Erica Darden, Beebe Animal Services director, said that if only two dogs are picked up and returned home safely during the month of March, she will consider it a win. Darden recently entered the No Place Like Home Challenge, where the shelter could win up to $150,000 in grant money.
“It is geared to changing the mindset to get more dogs back home with their owners rather than taking them into a shelter,” she said. “If a dog is picked up by animal control, normally, the animal will be taken back to the shelter; then the person who owns that pet may not reclaim the animal because they don’t have the money to pay the fine.
“The No Place Like Home Challenge is a mindset change, knowing that the dogs are better off in their loving homes, rather than having to find a new home or come to the shelter.”
She said a dog goes through a lot of emotional trauma, so “if we can keep them in their homes they have always had, it is the best thing for the animal.”
One way the Beebe Animal Services is changing that mindset is by implementing new practices, including placing microchip scanners and iPads in the trucks so that officers can access the shelter’s software and look up the information to get in contact with the owner.
“From there, we can just go ahead and return the dog to the owner or leave it at the home, rather than take it to the shelter — it is more economical to the city and shelter,” Darden said.
The grant is being sponsored by Maddie’s Fund, a family foundation established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield. For more information, visit www.maddiesfund.org.
“They provide grants, financial opportunities
and educational resources that go toward animal rescue and animal advocacy,” Darden said. “It is just a great organization.”
On April 15, Darden will turn in a report on how many dogs were returned to homes during the challenge period, and her data will be compared to other shelters that entered the challenge. She said that because Beebe Animal Services is a small facility, its numbers are obviously going to be lower, compared to some of the larger facilities. She said the winners will be announced in July.
“I’m not sure if it will be money or prizes, but anything we are awarded through this challenge will be used to enrich the lives of animals that come into our shelter,” Darden said. “We want to have more programs for our community and for people to be able to better access quality pet care that is affordable to them.
“We want to close the gap between the financial situation and the caring and compassion that a person can give.”
Darden, who has been with the shelter for four years, said she is always trying to find
things to improve the shelter, and this new mindset has been something she has been wanting to try for a while.
“Finding the grant challenge and seeing other places that were wanting to do the same thing was really exciting,” she said. “It gives us more tools and resources to do the things we want to do.
“The people who are participating in this challenge are sharing ideas — it has become a great networking tool that I think is going to benefit all involved.”
She said the shelter needs to be a resource for the community
so these animals can stay with their owners.
“One woman was recently surprised by this mindset,” Darden said. “Her dog was found at Walmart, but it had a tag, and we were able to get in touch with the owner, who was in the next town over. She was worried she’d have to pay a fee and be in trouble.”
Darden said the shelter is also offering microchips for pets at a cost of $15 during March. For more information, call (501) 882-8104.