KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

LITTLE ROCK – As a puppy, Amber broke her hind leg. Without treatment, it healed on its own, but she would forever have one leg shorter than the other causing her to limp the rest of her life.

Animal Services of Little Rock found the abused dog and brought her to the shelter, Little Rock Animal Village, where Amber met Tracy Roark, manager of the agency.

Six months later, after treatment and “having somebody show they cared for her,” Amber became a different dog, friendly and active. She now works alongside Tracy and goes home with him every night.

“She’s my baby,” Roark said.

About 200 dogs and cats live at the shelter, which opened in August at 4500 Kramer St. from its Chester Street location.

Little Rock residents paid for the $1.7 million shelter by passing a bond issue in 2003 and residents donated another $5,000 for items such as towels.

The shelter also received a $75,000 state grant and its advisory board raised another $130,000.

Bricks commemorating some of those donations lead up to the shelter’s doors and were carved with people’s names or in memory of lost pets.

The new building offers a unique design with a glass facade, cathedral ceilings painted soft lavendar and walls the color of grass. An exotic bird owned by one of the staff members flies freely around the waiting area, which is odorless thanks to an air-circulation system.

Blueprints have been completed for a $250,000 addition that will house a surgical suite and a meeting room. Donations and leftover bond money will cover the cost.

Roark said adoptions have increased to 800 a year. That’s up from about 300 annual adoptions five years ago.

While Little Rock Animal Services uses all its resources to help animals get adopted, it is an enforcement agency. Animals are euthanized based on adoptability – their temperment and health – and available space. No animal is put down if there’s enough room, but that’s rare.

“We’re always at capacity,” Roark said. “This time of year, we have a lot of animals coming in – kittens and puppies especially.

“We really try to showcase the animals here,” Roark said. “We overfeed everything just to show them that’s it’s OK and somebody cares about them.

He said the shelter focuses on making the animals comfortable, using towels inside the cages rather than newspaper, allowing them outside time and socializing the animals as much as possible

There’s a wide variety of dry and can pet food on hand in case the shelter gets finicky eaters. Most of the food is donated.

The shelter is most in need of new or used towels, Purina Dog and Cat Chow; dog biscuits and cat treats, and medical equipment and supplies.

Volunteers are always welcome.

The Little Rock Animal Village is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information on donations or volunteering, call (501) 376-3067.