Pet adoption event at Flooring Gallery helps pets from overcrowded shelter The Animal Protection Association celebrated its 10th birthday with cake and by holding
a pet adoption event at the Flooring Gallery in Clarksville on Saturday.The business decided to host the event because it always looks for a charity to donate to and it felt like the APA was a good cause, said Carole Meyer, interior decorator and salesperson there.The all-volunteer organization is a no-kill shelter — which means no healthy animal is euthanized — in Jeffersonville, and was on hand to find homes for cats, dogs and kittens, as well as looking for volunteers and funding. While volunteers for the APA said 100 percent of every dollar raised — its annual budget is around $30,000 — goes directly to the shelter, it is still in need.“We would desperately like to raise money because we are behind in our vet bills [about $4,000],” said Kathy Melvin, director of the APA. “And our shelter is bursting at the seams, so we hope to find some homes for some animals today and maybe even a volunteer or two.”The shelter, located at 702 E. 11th St. in Jeffersonville, has about 45 cats housed at the 1,000-square-foot building.“We are almost always beyond capacity,” Melvin said.The dogs available for adoption are not kept at the shelter, but normally live in foster care, said Linda Hughes, vice president and co-founder of APA. Because of their willingness to take in animals and overcrowding at the facility, APA has been trying to expand its shelter to add about 400 to 500 square feet.It has been raising money for the project, which Melvin estimates will cost about $80,000. The shelter has raised about $15,000 and believes it will be able to start construction once they receive half of the estimated cost.The shelter needs more room so it can house animals that may need to be isolated because of illness. The rest of the building is known as a “cattery,” where the felines are free to roam, Melvin said.“It’s like a great big home setting, which is nice,” she said.But the real goal is to place the animals in permanent homes, such as Jeffersonville resident Twyman Patterson’s, who was on hand looking for an animal for his wife.“I’m looking for a fuzzy chair animal, a stuffed animal with some personality,” he said, jokingly.Although Patterson left without a dog, he said he plans on adopting an animal because its a more humanitarian thing to do.“Before you buy an animal, please check out and make sure that you can’t rescue one first,” Melvin said.Options are available, even for people looking for specific type of pet.Melvin said many dogs in shelters are actually purebreds and if you’re looking for an animal that is good with children or other animals, older dogs are a viable choice.“We can tell them about the behavior and personality characteristics of the animal, so they kind of know what they are getting,” she said.The shelter has been successful in finding homes for animals in its decade-long history.“We’ve placed about 3,000 pets in our 10 years,” Hughes said. But whatever help the APA can get, it is willing to take.“[Even] if people just want to come in and play with [animals] for an hour, that would be great,” Melvin said. None/ None/ None/ More from the Clark County (The Evening News) section