The Good Shepherd Humane Society has been serving the Eureka Springs area through all its busts and booms for more than 40 years. Over that time there have been good and bad years for the organization as well, but 2022 promises to top all the good ones as expanded facilities, programs and partnerships bring the best of animal care practices and outcomes to the facility.
GSHS Director of Animal Operations, Cole Wakefield, attributes this to the steadfast support of the community. “I’m so proud of our community,” Wakefield told the Independent, “they’ve stayed with us through thick and thin. They’ve really stepped up recently, and now we’re able to offer some very good things.”
One of those good things is a completely renovated back lot. Gone is all the old fencing and encroaching vegetation – now replaced by an enormous play yard, lots of roomy chain link enclosures with dog houses, a smaller play yard – and a view. “Who even knew we had a view back here?” Wakefield said. “The place was so overgrown and thick you wouldn’t have guessed we had all this room.
“Last year we started the ‘Dogs Playing for Life’ program. The Petfinder Foundation paid for special training for Terry from our staff to learn how to safely run large dog playgroups. This program allows us to learn more about the dogs and to help dogs learn how to play. Our recreation yard area can now better accommodate the program.
“For instance, Tucker, a dog that was with us for a while had a bad reputation when it came to other dogs. During those playgroups, we discovered Tucker loved other dogs! This information led to him being adopted just a week after his first playgroup.”
Another of the good things is the reopening of the Spay & Neuter Clinic. GSHS has been in transition with its clinic and most recently had partnered with Spay Arkansas for a time, providing more than a thousand spays or neuters during the past year.
“Now we’ve taken on the clinic ourselves,” Wakefield said. “We’re very excited to be welcoming Dr. Mandi Shearhart as our new spay and neuter veterinarian. We plan to be back to providing low-cost spay and neuter services on a monthly basis by the end of April and should be announcing a date soon.”
Shearhart practices veterinary medicine at a clinic in Fayetteville and spent three years working at the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri.
A good thing – for people and pets – is that the People and Pets Vaccination Clinic canceled due to weather on March 12 has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 26 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Eureka Springs Community Center.
GSHS plans to do more vaccination clinics this year with either low-cost or free services. They will also be implementing a $15,000 grant from Best Friends Animal Society through the NWA PAW Coalition to start a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release program in Carroll County.
The shelter is currently in the midst of a 30-dog rescue operation from an animal hoarding situation in the Berryville area. Many of the dogs need medical and/or surgical intervention and are being brought to the shelter a few at a time. Some may need loving aftercare. This is where the shelter’s volunteers can shine.
“We have some great people volunteer to care for cats and dogs that need special attention,” Wakefield said. “The fostering program is running but we really need more participants. It’s a great way to help animals in need, and we cover medical or special care costs. You can also foster healthy cats and dogs to help us keep room in the shelter for those animals with nowhere else to go. We also offer daytrip fostering, where you can grab a dog for a few hours. It does wonders for their mental health.
“We are also about to run smack dab into ‘kitten season’ where the number of cats on-site will double or triple. We will likely need kitten and bottle fosters, so please reach out if you are interested.”
Visit goodshepherd-hs.org for info on all programs, or phone (479) 253-9188. The shelter is open daily from noon – 5 p.m. at 6486 US62 West.