Looking for a new adventure? Need some inspiration to stay active? Wanting to find a way to help out the community? How about a furry friend to do all of the above and more?
Urgent Animals of Hearne will be hosting the fourth annual Barksgiving on Nov. 18 at The Ranch Harley-Davidson in College Station. This is one of their two largest fundraising events of the year and will feature several of their adoptable dogs, a silent auction, DJ and face painting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m..
Urgent Animals of Hearne gets 95% of their animals from Hearne Animal Control and since the COVID pandemic, founder Debbie Fatheree says there has been more disregard for animals and even less volunteers to foster. Since 2013, the group has been able to save over 3,000 animals and have even had an impact as far as Dallas in the past.
“Right now the way things are, we cannot help anybody else outside of this jurisdiction,” Debbie says. “We don't have enough available fosters. We really need fosters and, of course, good adopters.”
Those interested in adopting, can fill out an application online and will go through a trial period to ensure the animal is a good fit for their home. For those who want to help, but can’t adopt Debbie says fostering is also an option and a huge need for incoming dogs so the organization can continue to keep these dogs out of unfavorable conditions. Food, leashes, preventative medications and crates are all provided so volunteers would not be taking on any expenses.
“There's probably about 30 of us right now keeping this all going,” Debbie says. “The animal control officer just called and we had four intakes at midnight last night — they’re full over there and I have nowhere to put them.”
The overall goal of Urgent Animals of Hearne is to house animals dumped at or picked up by animal control to keep them from euthanasia. With helping a large number of animals who need medical care, Debbie says they typically rack up $8,000 to $10,000 in medical bills each month. All fundraising efforts and donations go toward the Robertson County Vet who helps to keep the animals healthy and get them ready for their new homes.
“We have domesticated these animals over the years, and made them completely dependent on us,” Debbie says. “I believe that we have a responsibility to take care of them and make sure that they're not abused, neglected, or tortured — we need to live up to our responsibility and take care of them.”
Urgent Animals of Hearne was started after Debbie saw a need in the community and decided to take action. Since the group gets no outside funding, events like Barksgiving give them the opportunity to raise money as well as hopefully spread awareness and get more interest in fostering or adopting. Debbie says she hopes people come out to Barksgiving to have fun and support the cause. The group is also frequently at America's Country Store & Pet Resort on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with adoptables for people to meet.
For anyone interested in becoming a foster, they can private message Debbie on Facebook. Their Facebook, UrgentHearnePets, also features their adoptable dogs and a link to their GoFundMe.
