Among the responsibilities a college student is forced to balance, many choose to take on the challenge of owning a pet. Sometimes these pets get lost, and far too many times, they are taken to a shelter and forgotten about. Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge aims to fix this problem.
CAABR is a quasi-public entity, meaning it receives part of its funds from taxpayer dollars and the rest from private donations. Its main goals are to return lost pets to their owners, and ultimately prevent unnecessary euthanization of animals because of lack of space.
“We are legally obligated to accept and care for all animals that we receive,” said Cathy Coates, CAABR board member and volunteer at the shelter. CAABR what is known as an open intake shelter.
“We take care of these animals for as long as necessary,” Coates said. “But every single day your dog or cat is in our care, we charge a fee for that.”
The shelter’s primary focus is to find homes for all of its animals, though Coates pointed out the distinction between animals without homes and those who are simply lost and need their owners back.
“I’ll bet there are students here who have no idea to think there’s a shelter that almost definitely has their pet in most cases,” Coates said.
Specific cases exhibit signs that are almost certain to be lost pets, she said. A husky, picked up Nov. 17 by animal control, was both spayed and heartworm negative, which is an unusual circumstance for an animal who’s been living on the streets for any amount of time in southern Louisiana. This suggests that there’s an owner out there missing a dog. A chihuahua, also spayed and heartworm negative, was picked up two days later and is in the same situation.
Coates said there are four ways an animal can leave the shelter. They can either be adopted, taken in by a private rescue organization, returned to their original owner or, in extreme cases, euthanized.
Euthanization occurs in the event there is no space for any more animals at the shelter or that resources are lacking. Coates stressed this is why it’s even more important for owners to be aware of CAABR as a resource that could easily have their lost pet. Some of the space that could be used on animals from abusive homes or who are truly homeless is being ostensibly wasted on pets who have owners.