By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Havre Animal Shelter is continuing to serve the public despite a significant increase in animals in their care, with 606 intakes in 2021, a 28 percent increase compared to 2020.
Animal Control Officer Pete Federspiel says they have stopped accepting surrenders from outside of Havre City Limits and have double the number of cats they are supposed to care for at a time.
“I still have a list of cats to come in from within the city limits. We’re just trying to filter through as many animals as we can.”
Despite the challenges, Federspiel says he is proud that the shelter has earned no-kill status for a third straight year, meaning they have a live-release rate above 90 percent.
“It’s fantastic for us to be able to reach it … We’re going through and saving as many animals as we can and finding them homes, transferring them to other shelters, whatever we can do to find them homes. It’s just kind of a number that we can set and it’s a goal for us, and I think it’s just awesome that we’ve been able to reach that number for the last three years.”
Federspiel says one major reason for the abundance of animals in their care seems to be a lack of pets that are spayed or neutered. There are many programs by local groups including Friends of the Animal Shelter, that are available to help people with expenses related to spaying or neutering their pets.
