SHERIDAN, Ark. — The animal crisis in Arkansas has gotten too big to ignore, especially in rural areas where animals are being dumped and dropped off without proper care.
Now, rescue owners like Sandy Valentine are taking matters into their own hands to solve the issue.
"There's no way I can help every single animal," Valentine said. "It was breaking my heart to see all these animals that I couldn't help, and I thought, I have to do something."
Valentine, the owner of Valentine K9 Rescue, started digging into ways to help the animal population and discovered a grant from the Heigl Foundation created by Grey's Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl and her mother, Nancy Heigl.
"They have graciously given us this money," Valentine said. "Over $16,000 to spay and neuter all these animals for our community."
From now until Saturday, they are neutering hundreds of dogs and cats to stop the cycle of unwanted animals at a mobile neuter clinic in Sheridan.
"It's lightening the load on us rescues to where in the coming years we'll be able to see the results from this," Valentine said. "All of those unwanted animals that would have been born or not were able to focus on the ones that are here now, the adults that need help."
Not only does it help the rescues and shelters avoid an overload of animals coming through their doors. It also gives more people access to spay and neuter options at no cost in their community.
"There's a shortage of veterinarians," Valentine said. "We need those options of spay and neuter. If given the option, I think this right here will do the right thing. They'll spay and neuter their animals. They just needed a way to afford and do it."
Valentine said they can't accept any more applicants now, but everything they're doing is to help our furry four-legged friends.
She also hopes they will host a similar event later to help as many pet owners, shelters and rescues as possible through this difficult time fighting the animal crisis in Arkansas.