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| Pet abandonment still an issue in Louisburg |
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| Written by Aaron Cedeño | |||
| Wednesday, 07 October 2009 07:00 | |||
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There’s a lot to love about life in the country. Fresh air is a big plus, as is all of the additional space. Things such as less traffic, quiet neighborhoods and clear night skies undoubtedly would earn a mention as well. But, as Lyn Torok and her family have discovered during the past few months, country life has its downsides, too.  “We haven’t lived in the country very long, and it’s just kind of shocking to us,” she said. “You go on a walk with your neighbor, and I’m constantly coming across litters of kittens.” Pet abandonment is, unfortunately, somewhat of a never-ending problem for residents of Miami County. The Toroks, for example, live near Middle Creek Lake, about seven miles south of Louisburg, and Torok said that happening upon an abandoned dog or litter of kittens has been a monthly occurrence near their property. It’s a problem with no easy solution, she said. As her house is already home to a dog and three cats, the family simply doesn’t have the room to take in and care for additional pets, and other area families are in a similar predicament. After recently taking in an abandoned young bassett hound, Torok started thinking about alternatives and then picked up the phone. “I started calling around asking, ‘What do you do to surrender a dog?’ ” she said. It’s an obvious question that, sadly, not many people take the time to ask. Were they to do so, it could go a long way to helping reduce the number of abandoned pets in Louisburg and all of Miami County, Carolyn Karns said. Karns is one of the co-founders of both of Louisburg’s pet rescue organizations: Olive’s Hope Pet Rescue and Pets Are Worth Saving (PAWS). Both groups work with local pounds, including in La Cygne and Osawatomie, animal clinics, Miami County Animal Control and the public to find homes for hundreds of abandoned pets. “We just foster out of our homes; we don’t have room,” said Sandy Ward, a co-founder of PAWS. “We’ve just been dealing with the ones that actually get picked up as strays. Instead of seeing them euthanized, we take them in.” Pet abandonment usually involves a handful of factors. Perhaps the main culprit, however, is a failure on behalf of owners to have pets spayed and neutered. Those who suddenly find themselves caring for unexpected litters can become quickly overwhelmed, and the process of having the pet fixed is a relatively cheap and easy preventative measure. It’s been a focus of both Olive’s Hope and PAWS. Karns pointed out that Olive’s Hope has helped spay and neuter more than 100 pets. Assistance is offered through a Web site it helps sponsor — MiamiCountySpayandNeuter.com. In fact, cyberspace has offered a whole new way for rescue services to find homes for cats and dogs quickly and efficiently. Petfinder.com, for example, offers an extensive and up-to-date listing of rescued dogs and cats for families on the lookout for a new pet, and it’s a service of which Olive’s Hope has made extensive use. “The only thing that keeps us from rescuing every dog in the pound is the number of foster homes we have,” she said. “We need more foster homes.” For more information on Olive’s Hope, go online to www.oliveshope.com, or call (913) 271-7459. For more information on PAWS, go to www.petsareworthsaving.com or call (913) 963-2152.
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