Letter to the editor: Parish in need of animal shelter

Dear Editor,

I am writing you as a concerned citizen, animal lover, and volunteer for 4 Paws Rescue. I drive throughout the entire parish for work, and I am tired of seeing stray dogs either dumped at dumpsters, abandoned on rural roads, or strictly just not being cared for. We have no spay/neuter laws so animals are continuing to reproduce which makes the crisis continue.

Ruston has a new city shelter which is wonderful! RAC (Ruston Animal Control) only takes in dogs and cats that are within the city limits. RAC does their best to find homes for the dogs and cats that are in their care. The problem is RAC stays full and has to turn away animals even if they are within the city limits.

4 Paws Rescue has been providing shelter, food, and medical care to stray, abandoned, and neglected dogs of Lincoln Parish since 2005. 4 Paws receives no local, state, or federal funding. Their operating costs exceed $12,000 per month, and they rely solely on donations, fund raisers, and grants to survive. The average number of dogs at 4 Paws is now around 80+. With very few adoptions and transports north, 4 Paws stays at max capacity and rarely has an open kennel. Many of the dogs have been there for years! 4 Paws has very few volunteers especially in the summer, and they are struggling to take care of the increased population.

How did the animal overpopulation problem in Lincoln Parish get so bad? OPAS (Ouachita Parish Animal Shelter) stopped taking animals from other parishes two years ago which is totally understandable. Before this time, the overflow from Lincoln Parish went to OPAS. Since this closure Lincoln parish has seen a drastic increase in the stray population.

I am reaching out to our community to ask for help. 4 Paws turns away dozens of animals daily, because there is absolutely no room to put them. I am sure Ruston Animal Control does the same. The majority of strays come from the parish (outside the city limits). Lincoln parish residents used to be referred to the sheriff department in the past if a stray animal was found outside the city limits. Now callers are told there is nothing the sheriff department can do. It is heartbreaking to constantly turn needy animals away, and it is frustrating for Lincoln parish residents who are trying to do the right thing for these animals. This is taking a toll on animal lovers and rescue staff in our area.

I am hoping the residents of Lincoln Parish will contact their police jury representative and stress your concerns. It is a huge project to tackle and won’t happen overnight, but please we have to start somewhere! Starting with a Low Cost Spay/neuter program and enforcing spay/neuter laws would be a great place to start. We also need a shelter for Lincoln parish, because the problem is only getting worse.

Thank you.
Lauren DeFreese
4 Paws Rescue