Texomaland Animal Rescue and Shelter Organizations

It’s time to ramp up the holiday season charity drives for non-profit organizations. The needs of a community create the reasons for founding many great charities. Texomaland is no different. In our era, if a public problem or need exists, a charity to solve the problem or supply the need probably also exists.

Texomaland sees its fair share of animal neglect, abuse, and abandonment. Almost all of the organizations highlighted in this article promote services, fees, and policies on Facebook, Petfinder, and/or Adopt-a-Pet, along with their home websites, but some have no budget for a home page.

All fees charged by these charities and city animal pounds pay for veterinarian services such as spay and neuter, vaccines, heartworm tests and prevention, flea and tick control, and de-worming. All welcome donations, both in-kind and monetary. Besides monetary donations, these organizations accept greatly appreciated and badly needed in-kind items like pet food, pet treats, kitty litter, towels, blankets, grooming supplies, and cleaning supplies. Make sure to ask any shelter personnel what they need before you purchase in-kind supplies for their animals. The Whitesboro listing is in the 1st comment link, PACT Military is in the 2nd comment, and the links to all of these animal-loving organizations are in the 3rd comment below this article (please sort by by oldest to achieve the correct order of comments which are the rest of the story).

Ardmore Animal Care, Inc. Animal Shelter

Amazing! Ardmore Animal Care is particularly prolific with its volunteer programs, and processes 5000 to 6000 animals per year, with room to accommodate 100-plus animals. This shelter operates a foster program that fills the gap in between shelter-to-adoption. Volunteers take animals to visit nursing homes and hospitals, and also socialize, walk, feed, play with, and groom its occupants. This shelter does not charge for animal surrenders to residents of Carter County.

All Our Hearts Together Rainbow Bridge (AOHT-Bonham)

Kindness, pay it forward! No animal control services existed in Fannin County when these caring citizens began AOHT. It only provides fostering services, which means that serious volunteer dedication touches the lives of homeless animals in Fannin County. AOHT practices a strict no-kill policy and works to adopt animals after they heal and socialize in their foster homes.

Bonham Animal Shelter

Heartwarming! This small and understaffed shelter charges extremely reasonable adoption fees of $30.00 for shelter adoptees and $10.00 for fostered adoptees. Interested pet parents must call or visit in person to ensure availability of office personnel.

Dennison Animal Welfare Group (DAWG)

Bad to the bone! DAWG aims to stop the euthanasia of unwanted and abused animals and works closely with the private contractor that operates Dennison’s animal pound. It has no paid staff, and relies on donations and grants for funding. Dogs cost $60.00 to adopt, and it offers a low-cost $25.00 Emerald Dog program. Cat adoptions run $50.00. Its motto: “Adopting a dog or cat from DAWG potentially saves two lives -- the one you take home and the one who gets more time.

Happy Hearts (Dennison)

So sweet! The Animal Hospital of Dennison operates Happy Hearts Shelter and only has room for 10 puppies and 10 to15 kittens. Staff and volunteers care for the future adoptees. This charitable arm of the hospital saves deserted puppies and kittens. Its motto: “Saving Lives and Touching Hearts One Adoption at a Time!”

Durant Animal Rescue Alliance

Excellent! This rescue serves Bryant Co. with a purpose to save as many dogs and cats as it can. Its loyalty lies with Durant’s municipal pound and depends on foster homes and rescue groups to rehome and rehabilitate its charges. It directs attention to puppy mill information, citing Oklahoma as a state with a large number of mills. It outreaches to its community by presenting an educational program about the benefits of adopting instead of buying pets to schools, churches, organizations, and companies. Its exceptional program, the Furry Friends Food Bank, supplies Veterans, elderly, and low-income pet parents with pet food!

Its motto: “By adopting from us, you save more than one life! This is because as soon as we place one, we can then go to the pound and save another.”

Homeward Bound Humane Society, Inc. (Durant)

Rock on with your good selves! This private shelter reaches out to low-income households with low-cost spaying, neutering, and vaccinations for pets. It rehomes a limited number of dogs and cats, lobbies for legislative reform in issues related to animals, and acts to raise awareness to the public concerning puppy mills.

Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter (Gainesville)

Absolutely inspiring! Also called Noah’s Ark S.P.C.A., this shelter works with cooperation from the City of Gainesville, but it survives as a publically funded 501(c) (3) charity. It instituted a program for low-income households to receive low-cost spay and neuter services from local veterinarians, plus it assures that the adoptees are socialized and micro-chipped. It works with the city pound to help lower the numbers of euthanized animals. Residents can surrender animals for a small fee.

The Kingston Animal Shelter

Step up! This shelter currently wants to fill two volunteer positions and promotes its services on Facebook. It only provides temporary shelter for animals. The Town of Kingston supplies it with a small operating budget, but donations provide for most of its expenses. It pays two part-time animal control officers and relies heavily on volunteer participation.

Madill Animal Shelter

This works! I can’t find much information on this municipal arm of Madill, but it has a Facebook page.

Pottsboro Animal Control-Grayson County Animal Control office

No-kill rules! A few sentences on the City of Pottsboro web page describe its services and how it endeavors to reduce euthanasia.

Arfhouse (Animal Refuge Foundation, Sadler)

Wow! What a great operation! This 24-year old, no-kill, care-for-life, canine ranch that houses 350 dogs at a time on 45 acres with a swimming pond for the dogs, simply shines as a dog haven. It places over 100 dogs a year and accepts very few surrendered dogs, because it directs its passion and resources into stray, abused, and abandoned dogs of any age and breed. It employs nine staff members and enlists five volunteers.

City of Sherman Animal Shelter

High-five to Sherman Animal Shelter staff! This city shelter does its best to adopt strays, surrendered, and abused animals out to loving homes through volunteers and community organizations. Volunteers walk, bathe, and socialize the adoptees, and it can always use more volunteers. It holds strays for five days and adoption fees are $50.00 for dogs; $40.00 for cats.

MuttNation Foundation (Tishomingo)

Hardcore country breathes life into this charity! National country music star Miranda Lambert and her mother, Bev Lambert, founded this pet rescue empire in 2009. MuttNation partners with shelters and animal rescue organizations to provide spay and neuter programs, medical services, adoptions, preventions, transportation, legislative changes, puppy mill rescues, service dog training and placement, assistance for wounded military personnel, dogs in prisons programs, and education.