MIDLAND, Texas — More and more cats and dogs here locally are on death row. This is happening because of the overcrowding of our local shelters.
"What happens is the shelter will take in animals. Once the shelter is full then decisions have to be made and certain animals have to be killed to open up space for other cats and other dogs to be dropped off so there really is a death row. Every dog and cat gets a certain number of days and when those days are up, no one comes to adopt, no one comes to foster then they are euthanized," said Karen Patterson, Vice President of Operations at Fix West Texas.
The euthanasia rates in Midland are 30% and in Odessa 52%.
"So 30% of all dogs and cats that enter the shelter will be killed for space. In Odessa the kill rate is about 52%. So chances are 50/50 of making it out alive," said Patterson.
This is why Fix West Texas has decided to help by partnering with the Midland Animal Shelter to take in all of their cats who are at risk of being on death row. "They come here, they get fixed, vaccinated and they get to go to new forever homes," Patterson said.
Since the start of this year, they've taken in a total of 150 cats, in hopes of giving them a second chance at life.
"When you look at all these animals, each one God made uniquely and for a specific reason and we want to give them the best chance at life that we can.," said Patterson.
If you're interested in giving these cats at Fix West Texas a forever home, you can stop by their location at 5023 Princeton Ave. Ste 17, Midland, TX 79703 or go to the Fix West Texas website for more information.