Lafourche shelter teams with Petfinder.com for the holidays

‘Tis the season to adopt or foster a lonely pet for the Christmas holidays, said Lafourche Parish Animal Shelter officials.

Lafourche has a variety of adoptable dogs, puppies, kittens and full-grown cats, shelter clerk Kelli Toups said. The parish agency is looking to have all its pets in a home by Dec. 20.

“You can view all our precious pets online by accessing our page through the Lafourche Parish Government Web site’s ‘Featured Links’ section,” she said.

Lafourche is participating in a national Petfinder.com pet-fostering program, through which more than 13,000 animal rescue organizations are trying to empty their kennels for the Christmas season.

The program was inspired by A Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie, “A Dog Named Christmas,” which will air Sunday on CBS.

The movie, according to Hallmark television’s Web site, tells the tale of a developmentally challenged man with a penchant for caring for animals. The man convinces his family and his rural community to participate in a local shelter “Adopt of Dog for Christmas” program.

Lafourche pets can be adopted also, Toups said. Adoption fees vary depending on the type of animal and its gender. A male dog costs $30, and a female dog costs $35. A male cat is $15 and female is $25.

Shelter + Challenge contest

As part of its Petfinder.com affiliation, Lafourche is participating in the $100,000 Shelter + Challenge, an international contest that awards grants to its winners. Lafourche is vying for the $20,000 grand prize.

Second place is $5,000, while third place is $3,000. Every state will also have one $1,000 winner.

In order for the agencies to win the prize, residents have to vote online at www.TheAnimalRescueSite.com. Visitors can click on the “Shelter+ Challenge” tab on the right side of the Web page, then search for Lafourche and vote.

A person can cast a single vote each day until the voting ends on Dec. 20. Grant recipients will be announced Dec. 23.

Shelter officials said the organization with the most votes each week will receive a $1,000 grant.

Toups said the money would help to improve the animal shelter’s spay and neuter program. The cost to spay and neuter pets depends on an animal’s type and size, but it can exceed $100.

Pet owners in Lafourche Parish who utilizes a Lafourche veterinarian are offered a $50 off voucher to have their adopted animal spay or neutered.

All adopted pets that are not “fixed” have to be spayed or neutered within 30 days of being adopted. Puppies or kittens should be spayed or neutered at 6 months of age, according to shelter regulations.

A fee for surrendered pets

The animal shelter instituted a fee for people who surrender their pets to the animal shelters, according to Toups.

The charge is new for the parish. Shelter officials said the fee is to help curb unwanted pet dropoffs. Pet owners are charged $20 to surrender their pet to the shelter; an extra $30 is tacked on if the pet is sick, injured or needs to be euthanized.

“The fee was put in place because it is really the owners responsibility to care for the animal,” Toups said. “Animal shelter people always thought that they could just drop off their unwanted pets. But, we are just here to help. As the owner, they are responsible for caring for that animal.

“Sure, there are circumstances that arise. In those cases where either the pet owner cannot take care of the animal anymore or they are moving and cannot take the pet with them. Either way, they care for the pet enough to pay the fee so that we can take care of them and find them a good home,” she added.

The new fee took effect Aug. 17. As a result there has been a slight decline in animal dropoffs.

“The number has declined where people just want to drop off their unwanted pets because they don’t want them anymore,” Toups said. “Whenever we tell them there is a fee, they try to find a way to keep them.”

The shelter tries to safeguard against pet owners who circumvent the fee by turning the pet loose. A description of each pet that is being surrendered is taken. If the owner refuses to pay the fee, the animal shelter still has the description of the pet.

Shelter administrators said if that animal is found loose later on, the shelter can provide information to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in case there is a need for a cruelty to animal charge.

“(The fee) is more to get people to take care of the pets,” she said. “The animal shelter takes in nearly 100 pets, mostly cats and dogs, a week that were either surrendered by their owner or found by the animal control unit.”

For more information about either program, contact Toups at (985) 446-3532.