Texarkana Animal League

The Texarkana Animal League has been in existence serving the pet population of Texarkana since the 1940’s in various capacities. We have been animal advocates, contracted with both of our twin cities for the running of the daily operations of the shelter, and our latest adventure returns back to our roots as advocates. As of December 2008, our organization no longer held the contract to run the local animal shelter, and with that change in direction, we have been able to approach the animal community in a completely different direction. Although operations have changed our mission has not. The Texarkana Animal League exists to provide protection and care for abandoned, abused, neglected and unwanted companion animals. We also want to promote animal welfare through programs and services that mutually benefit animals and people. We have been able to use our annual fundraiser, the “Tails of Two Cities” Day Planner to start three community-based programs. One helps low income households spay and neuter their pets and another helps current rescuers with medical costs of special needs animals. Finally, we established a foster care program to pull needy animals from the community, as well as the shelter, which will provide the extra medical attention and socialization needed in order for the animal to become adoptable. Our current Board of Directors, listed below, has spent hours and hundreds of dollars working hard to help our local and even regional pet population. • Mimi McDaniel, President • Mike Richardson, Chairman • Melissa Cook, Vice President • Andrea Chewning, Treasurer • Amanda Crabbe, Secretary • Michelle Boswell • Bruce Flint • Judge David Folsom • Prissy Hickerson • Kandy Hirsch • Dennis Huffman • Kirk Lohse • Martha Marshall • Jane Morris • Don Shipp “Tails of Two Cities”, along with a private donor, allowed us to launch our community based, low income, Spay/Neuter Assistance Program. We are hoping with additional funds to alter 240 animals in 2009 that otherwise would not have received this procedure. Along with altering the companion animal, we have included a wellness check, vaccines, and a heartworm test. This program is provided to Bowie and Miller county residents for the low cost of $40 for dogs and $25 for cats. TAL fronts all of the expenses for this program. Prices have been negotiated for the different procedures, but the cost remains the same to the public. In 2008, the local shelter took in over 7,000 animals and euthanized 5,800 of those taken in, 73% were put down because they could not or were not adopted. This program can only help by reducing the number of unwanted and unexpected animals in our area. Our annual fundraiser has provided the start up costs for the Foster Care Program, but in order to keep all of our programs benefiting the entire community, additional funds are needed. In the 2009 calendar year, we are hoping to help 96 animals through our foster care program. Each animal will be placed in an approved home and given standard care. The standard treatments are: • Spay or neuter • Heartworm test • Feline Leukemia Test • Worming • Full vaccines, including Rabies • A Wellness check by a licensed veterinarian • Heartworm prevention while in foster care • And a microchip These items will take an animal from no or nominal care to complete care and will make them highly adoptable. We have teamed up with Petfinder.com and PetSmart Charities to promote our adoptable animals. In working with our local veterinarians, a budget of $250 per animal has been established for the previously listed procedures. Our newest project is the LifeSaver Program. With the current overpopulation issue in this area, rescuers are inundated with adoptable, and many times, unadoptable, animals. This program was designed to help the rescuers afford the medical expenses to bring an unadoptable pet to adoptable status. Money has been set aside for the 7 rescue groups from this area to aid them in taking those “hard case” animals. Along with helping in the community, TAL still works as the support arm for the city-run animal facility. We are hoping to help in opening a spay/neuter clinic in our local shelter. This will allow every animal that is adopted to already be altered. We hold events that spotlight animals from the local shelter, such as PetsMart Adoption Events and Adoption Center, our Pet of the Week program, and a monthly ad in the local newspaper featuring several animals for adoption. In the Pet of the Week program, an animal is the in-studio guest for POWER 95.9’s Tuesday morning radio show, Provide a Pet a Pad. That same animal is featured in the newspaper and on a local television station that week. We have had some great success with saturating a particular animal in all local media outlets. We know this is just a start, but we believe it’s a start in the right direction.

Note: PO Boxes will not show correctly on the map below.