NEW ROADS, La. (BRPROUD) – The Pointe Coupee Parish Animal Shelter says, they are seeing more and more animals being abandoned.
“We’ve probably picked up 12” said Pointe Coupee Animal Shelter’s Director, Stacey McKnight.
In the past week, dogs were turned out during cold nights, forced to survive on their own.
“It’s very hard in the case of the three we picked up late at night. There was so much traffic, these dogs were so confused they were running behind every truck thinking that’s their person. It breaks your heart” said McKnight.
Four puppies were left inside a container at a sugar cane field and now officials are warning, abandoning animals is illegal.
“It’s inhumane to leave them alone, to let them starve to death, run around on the road get run over and then everyone in the Parish sees that” said Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff, Rene Thibodeaux:
If someone is caught abandoning an animal, they could face charges.
“The fine is 50 dollars for the first offense, 100 dollars for the second one and 200 dollars for the third offense. Is that a stiff enough fine to make someone really care and not do it again? I don’t know that’s kind of light,” says Thibodeaux.
McKnight says, if you can no longer care for your pet its best to drop them off than to leave them in a harmful situation.
“I just wish they would call and ask for a little better support. If they would just bring them on in because if we wouldn’t have got the call, if we wouldn’t have been for a Good Samaritan making that extra effort we might not have found these dogs and puppies in time” said McKnight.
The shelter says, with the influx of pets coming in they are looking for donations to keep pets warm and entertained.
Pointe Coupee Parish Shelter: Click Here
9639 Morganza Highway
News Roads, Louisiana 70760
(225) 718-0688
