FAULKNER COUNTY, AR - The Humane Society says Faulkner County has a dog dumping problem. Making matters worse, the county has no animal shelter.
Take, for example, dogs Sassy and Dakota. Debbie Kennedy of the Humane Society of Faulkner county says they were abandoned in Vilonia.
"They were just starving, literally starving," she said.
Now the Humane Society is paying to board them at JMC Puppy Park in Greenbriar until someone adopts them.
Here's the broader issue though: the Humane Society says Sassy and Dakota are two of hundreds of dogs who've been abandoned in Faulkner County just in the past couple of months. In fact, there are so many abandoned dogs, animal rights organizations can't afford to care for all of them at kennels like Puppy Park.
Just ask Pat Willey. She's currently taking care of 18 abandoned dogs.
"They need somebody," said Willey, "and nobody else cares."
So what's the solution? For starters, the Humane Society says everyone should spay or neuter their pets. More importantly though, the Humane Society says they need a place to bring abandoned animals, and right now there isn't one.
"We need a shelter, and we need it as soon as possible," said Fran Scroggins, who's president of the newly-formed group Friends of the Faulkner County Animal Shelter. She points to $600,000 collected by the voluntary Faulkner County Animal Welfare and Control Tax that isn't currently being used.
"I think we could build a shelter and start with something," explained Scroggins, "which is better than the nothing that exists right now."
County officials say they do plan to build a shelter eventually with the money, but there's no timetable. Until then, dogs like Sassy and Dakota are on their own.
If you're interested in adopting a pet, you can reach the Humane Society of Faulkner County at
FixingFaulknerCounty@gmail.com.
