Not so ruff: Edinburg animal shelter sees record number of adoptions

Donna Secory went back for Cocoa.

The Pharr resident found the Chihuahua mix covered in ticks, hungry and running free beside a city street a few months ago.

Thinking the dog’s owner might want him back, Secory took Cocoa to Palm Valley Animal Center to allow the owner to claim the missing pooch.

When nobody took the dog in, Secory adopted him just like she had done with three others from the shelter.

Secory, who got her first dog from the Edinburg shelter when it opened in 1981, said she always adopts her pets from the shelter that is forced to euthanize about 100 animals each day.

“They deserve a second chance,” she said, referring to the four Chihuahuas she saved from being euthanized: Cocoa, J.R., Ms. Daisy and Junior. “Everybody has got enough love in them to take care of these pets.”

They’re doing it in record numbers this month, too.

Through Monday, 226 pets had been adopted out of the shelter this month, said Darin Landrum, its executive director. With a week left in December, it’s almost double the adoptions seen in an average month.

Landrum said this month’s adoptions are also more than the shelter has previously seen around the holidays, which are usually the busiest for the center as Christmas gifts are picked out there.

On Monday, many kennels at the shelter were empty with pets already placed in homes. But Landrum said the Rio Grande Valley’s pet overpopulation problem would have them full in no time.

“It’s a never-ending cycle,” he said. “No matter what time of the year, it’s a great thing when we can get them into homes.”

Landrum said adopting a pet at the shelter is a good value because they already have been sterilized; have all of their vaccinations and shots and are screened at the shelter for behavioral problems.

Puppies and kittens can be had for $105. Older dogs and cats are $85.

In addition, he said, getting a pet from the shelter takes away from the Valley’s pet overpopulation problem rather than contribute to it.

Secory, who was at the shelter Monday to finalize Cocoa’s adoption, said she would take more pets in from the shelter if she could.

“If you take an animal in, it’s for life,” she said.

Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4424.