Brooke Barnett today brought Chip Hicks to talk to Rotarians about Friends of Mineral Wells Shelter Pets and the efforts of 16 volunteers to raise monies, awareness and dedicate their time and resources to helping Animal Shelter, Mineral Wells, TX and the stray animals that find their way to the shelter.
Chip said the volunteers last month donated a combined 400-plus hours to the shelter. He said nine volunteers use their personal vehicles and fuel to transport animals to rescue and adoption facilities and homes across the state. He said he has recently delivered animals as far aways as Wichita Falls and San Antonio.
He said the shelter friends group raised more than $37,000 for the shelter last year, all of which went directly to the shelter (as opposed to the city’s general fund) to help with the shelter’s operations and costs and provide fixtures and supplies the city’s shelter budget does not cover.
Chip touted the shelter has a 95% live release rate, which he said would qualify it as a no-kill shelter. He credited the animal shelter’s Director Kim Cochran Marinaro for her constant efforts to find foster and adoption opportunities for the shelter’s animals.
He noted there are ongoing efforts to spay and neuter animals, through free and low-cost clinics offered throughout the year by the animal shelter and through Palo Pinto County Humane Society.
The shelter’s feral cat program remains active, an effort to control feral feline populations by capturing cats, spaying or neutering them, then releasing them back into their neighborhoods. An ear clip denotes the animal has been spayed or neutered.
Chip said persons with a love for animals are invited to join the Friends of the Animal Shelter group, like and follow their Facebook page and donate to non-profit group so that those funds go directly to the shelter.