Animal shelter officials share plans for future

A cat prepares to pounce in the cat room of the Texarknaa, Ark., Animal Care and Adoption Center on Dec. 14, 2015. The two sections of the cat room have all the cats need and plenty of friends to play with.
A cat prepares to pounce in the cat room of the Texarknaa, Ark., Animal Care and Adoption Center on Dec. 14, 2015. The two sections of the cat room have all the cats need and plenty of friends to play with.

Texarkana, Ark., Animal Care and Adoption Center has seen a lot of improvements over the past year and shelter officials have plans for this year.

"One of the things I'm really pushing to get going here is is a spay and neuter clinic on-site," said Charles Lokey, shelter director. "When animals come in, we'll have a clinic right here and we can do their surgery in house. We'll have vets come here during the week to do it."

Lokey has been working on the spay and neuter clinic for months.

"I've discussed it with the Arkansas Veterinarian Board and the State Health Department and asking about what would be their criteria. If we're going to do it, I want it done right. I've been getting some pointers from them," he said.

There are several advantages to having those services available at the shelter.

"For one thing, it would be right here and we wouldn't have to transport dogs all over to vet clinics We don't have a problem with the vets doing it, but we run into scheduling conflicts and that kind of stuff," Lokey said.

With an in-house clinic, health emergencies with animals at the shelter could be addressed right there.

"If we had an emergency, we'd have some ability to handle it," Lokey said.

The project comes with a fairly high price tag on the shelter's tight budget.

"To do it right, by the time you get equipment for anesthesia, and a surgical table you're looking at a minimum of $7,000 to $10,000," Lokey said. "I need to get the money to get the equipment and if we can get the equipment, I have a room I can use up by the front offices. The biggest thing is to get the equipment. I've had a couple of vets say they'd be glad to come out and do it."

The shelter, which houses on average 200 animals at a time, operates on a tight budget. Donations from the community help the shelter provide for the animals.

"Naturally, we always need cleaning supplies and bedding and towels and stuff like that," Lokey said. "Any donations at all are very appreciated. We also get a lot of financial donations and those go to help operate the shelter."

Lokey and his crew have worked hard to create a better living environment for the animals, including improving the drainage system, increasing security, implementing new cleaning procedures and revamping the cat room.

"The cat room is more pet-friendly. Cats aren't all in cages. They're more free roaming and people can see the true nature of the cat. The can go in and sit down and interact with the cat," Lokey said.

"We've been working on fixing the infrastructure, fixing drains and the drainage system and electrical. We've done a lot of repainting, fixed a lot of doors, the guillotine doors that separate the inside from outside. We have new beds for the animals that keep the animals up off the concrete," Lokey said. "Me and my crew have worked very, very hard. We've put in a lot of extra work. We've stayed late and come in on the weekends, but we did it because we needed and wanted to get it done. I'm very proud of my staff."

"There are a lot of other things I want to improve. I haven't quit trying to get things better. I don't know if I'll ever have it to what I want, but I'm still working on it. There was so much stuff out here that was wrong and messed up, basically about all this year what I've done has been fix things," Lokey said.

For more information about the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center call 870-773-6388.

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