KY River Regional Animal Shelter to hold vigil amid desperate need of fosters, adoptions
It's a situation so dire, the shelter feels it can only be helped through God.
UPDATED STORY POSTED DECEMBER 20, 2022
HAZARD, Ky. (WTVQ) – A candlelight vigil will be held Tuesday night for the Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter in Hazard. The vigil comes as the shelter says its population is higher than it’s been in more than a decade.
It’s an issue the shelter’s president, Tammy Noble, says is partially due to the pandemic and the economy, and partially due to July’s devastating flooding in Eastern Kentucky.
“We really need this help. We really need help. We want to keep these animals alive. We want to send them to happy homes. Many of our animals haven’t experienced love until they’ve come to our shelter. And we want them to have a happy ever after ending,” said Noble.
Noble says intake at the shelter is higher than it’s been since 2011, with 60 animals a day coming into the shelter over the past couple of weeks.
Noble says with an intake capacity of 175 animals, the shelter is at nearly double that, with almost 300 animals, many of them living in travel crates due to the limited space.
It’s a situation so dire, Noble feels it can only be helped through God.
“Now, it’s beyond our flesh. So that’s why we need to pray for God to take control of the situation, because it’s out of our power,” said Noble.
According to the shelter, the dramatic increase in animals is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with animals either not being spayed and neutered, or because animals that were bought during the pandemic were surrendered.
The shelter also says the cost of having an animal, and July’s severe flooding resulted in a lot of animal surrenders.
The dramatic increase is forcing the shelter to consider euthanizing healthy animals.
“It’s a very, very difficult decision for us to make, especially when it comes to euthanizing an animal. Especially a happy, healthy, very sociable animal. Especially when the only reason it would have to leave the shelter is because of space, it’s really sad,” said Noble.
The shelter is now pleading with the community to come together in prayer to help make the impossible, possible.
The candlelight vigil will be held at the shelter at 6:30 Thursday night at 194 Animal Shelter Lane in Hazard.
ORIGINAL STORY POSTED DECEMBER 18, 2022:
HAZARD, Ky. (WTVQ) -The Kentucky River Regional animal shelter in Hazard is urging the public to foster or adopt its animals as its population is worse than its been in over a decade, according to the shelter.
On Tuesday the shelter will hold a “Hope for help” candlelight vigil to pray for fosters, rescues, and adoptions for these animals.
Shelter officials say with an intake capacity of 175 animals, it nearly doubled that with almost 300 animals.
The shelter says if it can’t get the animals adopted, some will have to be euthanized.
The candlelight vigil will be held at the shelter at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
