by Paula Hunsaker

Feral Paws Rescue Group in Fresno shares with us some of their animal rescue adventures every month. Check out KRL’s article about Feral Paws to learn more about them and check out their website.

In the world of rescue, it is like a battlefield between rescue groups and Animal Control. It’s a pretty simple battlefield: rescue groups want to save a life from being ended at a kill shelter. In the eyes of a rescue group, Animal Control kills perfectly healthy animals with just a few days to make it out of kill shelters. But people keep dumping their pets at high-kill shelters knowing they may die within three to seven days once they have been left there. From our perspective, we see the staff as heartless humans who take a life of a healthy animal. So, speaking of Animal Control in a positive manner is uncommon in the world of rescue.

Cat rescued by Tulare Animal Control

Our rescue, Feral Paws, has been pulling from 17 different Animal Controls within California for many years. We have seen so much when entering Animal Control buildings of different shelters. They each have different policies for how they deal with rescue groups. But the main thing they all have in common is the killing of healthy animals.

My story this month is unusual: a rescue group that wants to praise an Animal Control shelter, Tulare Animal Control, and Melissa. She goes above and beyond to help the animals out of shelter before being put down.

Cat rescued by Tulare Animal Control

Melissa is amazing. She works so hard to keep the animals healthy, and to get them moved out to rescue groups. She even helps the rescued animals that may be crippled or have other medical issues. She works endlessly, even on her personal time, taking home sick kittens, and adult cats to help nurse them back to health so they have a chance. She also helps to transport cats to rescue groups, either meeting them halfway on the road or bringing them to a rescue group on her own time.

Cat rescued by Tulare Animal Control

In the world of rescue we see so many mistakes on the paperwork we get. But not with working with Tulare Animal Control. Their paperwork is always in order and up to date. They’re above so many other Animal Controls: they microchip, vaccinate, Felv/Fiv test them, treat for fleas, worm them, even neuter the cat if possible. That is amazing help in savings to a rescue group, and time saving to get them out to forever homes. Their cats are always clean and overwhelmingly healthy. They have even held on to some kittens for us that were showing signs of coming down with URI and treated them and then sent them up to Feral Paws.

Cat rescued by Tulare Animal Control

Plus, the staff is always so nice and helpful to us. The cats we get from this shelter are adopted out so fast because they are healthy and so sweet; Tulare spends a lot of time hands-on with the animals. In my story this month I wanted to give them a shout-out for their hard work and for caring for the cats and kittens in their shelter. They’d rather go that extra mile for them, than to have to kill them. When they call upon us to help get cats and kittens out of their shelter, because they do not have a big cattery area, we are always happy to help Tulare Shelter if we have the space!

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section & watch for more stories from Feral Paws every other month, and we would love to have you join our KRL Pets Facebook group. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to Feral Paws.