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Not enough love to go around

The first thing you notice is their eyes. Eyes pleading for attention. They're wondering if they should wiggle up for a pat on the head or just run and hide.

Sadly, many homeless animals will die from neglect or end up in a crowded public facility where the only choice is to euthanize them when they're not claimed or adopted. Space in shelters is limited, and there just aren't enough families available to adopt an animal.

"People have this image of lost or homeless pets like in that Homeward Bound movie, where they're having this wonderful adventure, helping each other and doing fine," says Kat Hitchcock, executive director of Happy Tales Humane in Franklin. "But nothing could be further from the truth. The life of a homeless animal is anything but happy. It's usually a short, violent and disease-filled existence."

Hitchcock's passion is evident when she describes the problem of domestic animal overpopulation. Heartbreaking statistics released by the Humane Society indicate that 70,000 puppies and kittens are born every day in the U.S., far more than can be taken into homes. Each year, as many as 6 million animals must be euthanized.

Spaying and neutering pets is the first and best defense against the high birth rate and animal suffering, says Hitchcock. Her organization's mission is to improve the quality of life for local, unwanted pets by rescuing, caring for and finding homes for them, and by reducing — ideally, eliminating — their numbers in the first place.

To that end, Happy Tales Humane is working to make spaying and neutering pets affordable for everyone. For details on how to have your pet neutered or spayed for as little as $10, visit www.petcompassion.com. Happy Tales also sponsors numerous projects to raise public awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering.

"We cannot rely on the government to fix this (problem of animal overpopulation). This is something that's a problem for all of us," says Hitchcock. "We need to take responsibility for our own animals.

"To house, treat and euthanize homeless animals costs millions of dollars every year," she continues. "If we do the right thing, that money could be used elsewhere — like education." She would also like to see new legislation that offers incentives to people who spay or neuter their pets.

Every day seems to bring a challenge, or the heartbreaking task of telling a caller there's no room to take their unwanted dogs or cats. Happy Tales is a no-kill shelter, so they can only take in animals as fast as they're able to adopt them out. The space for dogs comes from gracious fosters who open their homes to animals that would otherwise not be given another chance.