Location
Type of Organization
Services Provided
Their Work
Volunteers of the Purrfect Corporation, a sanctuary for companion animals since 1998, have their work cut out for them. In economically struggling Hill County, Texas, it sometimes seems like there aren’t a lot of people who care about dogs and cats. Sadly, puppies and kittens are abandoned with regularity, and the solution to the problem – spay and neuter of all dogs and cats – has yet to be embraced widely by pet owners, despite the availability of some low-cost and even free services in nearby areas. Even the dogs and cats that are “owned” may have a fairly precarious life: dogs are often housed outdoors without adequate shelter, and “barn” cats attached to local farms and ranches – while they do have shelter and food – are vulnerable to predators and accidents.
Hill County has no government-run shelter, and any animals picked up by municipalities’ Animal Control are either destroyed immediately or given 3 days to be claimed, then killed. Purrfect Corp will sometimes take in some of these animals; they also receive animals surrendered by owners who won’t or can’t care for them.
Purrfect Corp’s founder tells of fielding phone calls from kids desperate to save their pet’s life: their father has threatened to shoot the dog or drown the cat because it has become a financial burden to care for, or they just don’t want to be bothered anymore. Other times, whole litters of young animals have been simply dumped on a street corner or a back lot to fend for themselves. Sometimes when they are found they are too ill and emaciated to be saved.
The dedicated members of Purrfect Corp know they’re up against entrenched mindsets placing a low value on companion animals, but they don’t let that stop them. Neither does their extremely modest funding. The director of the organization has turned her own property into an indoor/outdoor sanctuary, complete with an enclosed shelter with porch and pet doors, special fencing to keep the cats contained, a water mister for the summer, a heat lamp for the winter, and other creative solutions for a small shelter space. Currently, 74 cats and 2 dogs call this sanctuary home.
SPCA International applauds Purrfect Corporation for their great dedication to animals. We are pleased that the Shelter of the Week award will help the organization with a list of projects, including eye surgery for one of the current feline patients, spay and neuter of some of the 11 kittens just taken in, and the purchase of two automatic water dispensers for the shelter.
Additional Info and Website
You can donate to this organization by sending a check to:
Purrfect Corporation
133 Waterview Dr.
Whitney, TX 76692
Web site(s)
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX414.html
http://purrfectcorpanimalsanctuary.org/cgi-bin/blog