Pet overpopulation is a severe problem in our community.  Over 7,000 healthy animals are needlessly euthanized each year in Ouachita Parish!  This is unacceptable!  Spaying and neutering our pets is the most effective way to reduce the vast number of animals who tragically die, either humanely at shelters, or inhumanely on the streets.  PAWS of Northeast Louisiana makes spay / neuter a very important part of our mission.  Along with the help of area veterinarians, we are working toward the solution to this problem by making spay / neuter surgeries possible for pets of low-income families. 

Pet Overpopulation and Ownership Statistics

As a nation, we claim to love cats and dogs. Millions of households have pets, and billions of dollars are spent yearly on pet supplies and food. But as a nation, we should take a hard, sobering look at a different annual statistic: the millions of dogs and cats given up to shelters or left to die on the streets. And the numbers tell only half the story.

Every cat or dog who dies as a result of pet overpopulation—whether humanely in a shelter or by injury, disease, or neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed. Here's information about this crisis and why spaying and neutering is the first step to a solution.              From the H.S.U.S