Helping Animals get a Second Chance

Helping Animals get a Second Chance



There is a saying that it takes a truly special type of person to adopt a child, well the same saying can be said about a person who adopts a cat or dog as well. The Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter as well as The Humane Animal Treatment Society or HATS are doing their best to make sure that their dogs and cats are leaving in good hands.

HATS is a non-profit organization formed in 1999 by local citizens to help Isabella County companion animals and to increase the number of concerned and responsible animal owners through educational and adoption programs, according to HATSweb.org.

The members of HATS volunteer many hours a week at the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, helping keep the place in the best shape possible and preparing the animals for adoption. Such duties include cleaning the kennels and cages, bathing the animals, and walking the animals as well.

“When adopting an animal from us the is a fee but with that fee we will take care of just about everything medically needed for you to take that animal home, said Toni Holmes a HATS volunteer of four years, with that fee the animal things such as rabies and flea shots, as well as being spayed and neutered.”

Not every dog and cat at the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter is adopted however. The dog kennel can only hold 34 dogs and a majority of the time they are full, if an animal has been at the shelter for an extended period of time and has no real future of being adopted, the shelter does euthanize.

“ We would like to see all of our animals adopted but it just does not happen that way, the majority of the euthanized animals are the larger sized dogs, because they have a reputation to be mean and many people do not like to adopt them”, said Holmes.

Holmes however did say that puppies and smaller types of dogs generally do not have an extended stay at the shelter. Micki Christiansen, a Mount Pleasant resident, recently adopted a puppy from the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter.

“I choose this animal shelter because of the proximity and convenience and also they had the type of dog I wanted there, I also heard very good reviews on their treatment of the animals as well, said Christiansen.

Christiansen, who already owns two dogs, said that owning an adopted dog is very different from owning one since it was a puppy.

“You have to give it more attention, especially if the dog is coming from an abusive situation. You also need to make sure the dog gets frequent bathroom breaks, I sometimes have to run home in the middle of the day just to let the dog out of the house”, said Christiansen.

Although it has been more work added onto an already busy schedule Christiansen said that owning the new puppy is absolutely worth it and recommends adopting others.

For more information on how to adopt or how to be a contributor to HATS, you can visit their website at www.HATSweb.org.