Wanted: Loving Home
by Sarah Milstead
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

For many, domestic animals are the embodiment of love, giving joy and comfort to their owners and asking little in return.

Yet many dogs and cats get nothing from their people but neglect and abandonment. Set loose on the streets to fend for themselves, these animals have no one to turn to - unless they are taken to a shelter like the League City Animal Care and Adoption Center.

The LCACAC, located at 821 North Kansas St., is a municipal organization that serves as a temporary home for rescued strays and injured wildlife. Five animal control officers and approximately 25 active volunteers run the shelter.

"Our volunteers are our driving force," said Sara Souter, superintendent of animal control. "They are truly what makes this place special."

Volunteers perform a variety of tasks. Dogs must be walked and both dogs and cats get plenty of attention.

While the annual budget allows for veterinary care, many volunteers donate their own money to pay for spays and neuters.

Some even offer their homes as quiet places for sick animals to recuperate.

When animals are taken to the shelter, they are held for five days to ensure owners are given the opportunity to find them. After that, the animals are available for adoption. Living in cages, they wait for the person who will take them home.

"I love dogs," volunteer Mark Schmalz said. "It feels good when someone comes in and connects with a dog and takes him or her home."

Animals in shelters do not always find homes. The LCACAC has 22 dog kennels, 36 cat cages, three quarantine dog runs and six quarantine cat runs.

If the shelter becomes too crowded, it can mean an animal will be euthanized.

"There are three reasons we euthanize," Souter said. "If an animal is so sick or injured that they can't be saved; if an animal is so feral that we can't adopt them out; or if we become so crowded that we have more animals than we have space for."

The number of animals put to sleep varies from month to month, as does the number of animals that are rescued and adopted.

It is said that love cannot be bought; but at shelters like the League City Animal Care and Adoption Center, love can be adopted.

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