Hill Country Humane Society receives $100K donation

The Hill Country Humane Society received a $100,000 donation from the estate of Art Gower of League City on Oct. 5. The money will be used to help with crowding issues at the shelter.

“He was a huge animal lover,” Hill Country Humane Society Executive Director Paighton Corley said of Gower. “He left a bunch of money to the caretaker of his dogs as well. He had a really big heart and cared about animals.”

The donation will kickstart the shelter’s Mobile Adoption and Surgical Hospital, or MASH, unit, which is set to be delivered in November and used to spay and neuter animals.

“There’s obviously a massive overpopulation issue in our community,” Corley said. “With our MASH unit, we plan to spay and neuter as many animals as we can for low-cost and/or free.”

Over 90 percent of the animals coming into the shelter are unaltered.

“That is definitely a representation of our community,” Corley said. “Many people simply can’t afford to keep up with basic medical (care).”

That figure, coupled with how quickly unaltered animals can multiply, has made overpopulation a growing concern. Two cats can be responsible for 400,000 more cats in their lifetime as their offspring begin to reproduce.

“It’s very easy for it to get out of hand,” Corley said.

The shelter has recently been inundated with large dogs, which has made conditions even more crowded.

“This month alone, we’ve taken in 44 dogs,” Corley said. “Probably about 40 of them have been big dogs and we have 55 big dog kennels, so it is tight quarters up here in the shelter. We have pop-up kennels in every office across the shelter because we simply don’t have shelter space.”

Issues with the shelter’s septic system have made matters worse.

“It’s pretty hard up here,” Corley said. “We’re not able to clean as we normally would. These dogs would really like to get out of the shelter right now.”

She said people can further aid the shelter by fostering animals.

“We’re begging for fosters,” Corley said. “With fosters, there’s no time limit. We provide all supplies needed, including medical (care). It’s very great for the dogs. It helps them get adopted, and we learn more about them, and most importantly, they get a break from the shelter and it opens up space here.”

The shelter is hosting free adoptions through Oct. 15 in an effort to combat the recent rush of animals.

“Right now, we need the community’s help to get dogs out,” Corley said.

nathan@thepicayune.com