Pets in Peril

Jonathan Betz reports

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TOOL, Texas — A Henderson County animal shelter is faced with an agonizing decision: Either euthanize its animals or let them starve to death.

Directors at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake in Tool say they’re in danger of running out of food to feed the facility’s 140 animals.

“We cannot afford the $1,000 or so a month it takes to feed them,” said Tamara Rhodes, shelter president. “So our only solution at this point of time is to reduce the population and lessen the strain that feeding additional animals would cause us.”

The animals eat 150 pounds of food a day, much of which used to be donated, but now supplies are dangerously low, workers say.

The shelter only has enough food to last another week or two.

“We don't want to see those animals destroyed simply because of funding,” Rhodes said.

The shelter is like many across the country: Overwhelmed with abandoned pets and seeing their donations dry up.

Late Saturday afternoon, disappointed volunteers returned to the shelter from an adoption fair with a van full of animals they had hoped would not be returning.

“Most of them did not get adopted,” said shelter board member Kathy Jordan.

Each week, dozens of new animals arrive at the shelter.

Even though volunteers have been turning away the public, some people drop off the animals at the gate or toss them over the fence, workers say.

“We've had a lot of bad experiences of people dumping their dogs, and it's because of the economy,” said shelter worker Jeremiah Borchart. “People can't take care of their dogs.”

This rural shelter is one of few for miles around. Animal control agencies from nearly a dozen towns bring their stray animals to the Cedar Creek Lake facility.

Workers said they actually have the space for many of the pets, but simply cannot afford to care for them.

“It’s very serious,” Rhodes said. "This is pretty much the first time we've ever had this problem.”

Workers have been euthanizing nearly 20 percent of the shelter's animals and worry more might have to be put down.

Volunteers have been successful in getting rescue groups to save some of the dogs, but said it’s a challenge finding a home for unwanted pets with so many agencies suffering.

“It’s horrible,” Rhodes said, especially since many of the animals are adoptable former pets. “You can't imagine how heartwrenching a decision it is to take an animal and put it to sleep.”

If you want to help, you can call the shelter at 903-432-3422 or go by the shelter located at 10200 County Road 2403 in Tool.

E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com