COLUMBIA — The noise of dogs barking travels to the street. As you enter the shelter it becomes louder and louder. Once you approach the cages, you understand what is happening. Dogs of all kinds and of all ages are being taken care of at the Central Missouri Humane Society.
“We feel like the number of pets that are dropped off by owners has gone up quite a bit,” says Alan Allert, interim executive director at the Central Missouri Humane Society. It becomes increasingly hard for people to care for their pets if they have lost their jobs and are having trouble making ends meet, he says.
“Our shelter is what’s termed an open shelter," Allert says. "So we take in animals that are brought to us, that people want to relinquish. We take in animals that people find, lost animals, and we adopt out the ones we can.”
For the staff and volunteers, the Humane Society is more than just a shelter. “These are just some of the animals that cannot speak up for themselves and they’re homeless and I try to fix that and find them good homes,” says Katherine Huss, an animal care counselor at the society.
Aron Crittendon has adopted a puppy from the Humane Society as a present for his girlfriend. Crittendon never expected to find a German Shepherd puppy at the shelter. His family always had a dog around but this will be the first one he will raise himself. “It’s really good luck, I guess,” Crittendon says.
This week concludes Boone Life: Beginnings, our weekly photo column about beginnings of all kinds in Boone County. We hope you enjoyed the stories. Boone Life will resume in January.