Take a video tour (below) of the shelter to see why Shelter Director Charles Lokey has closed the downstairs building that houses the stray hold dogs. It's because the building is literally falling apart and is inhabitable for the animals of the shelter. This means many animals that have been at the animal shelter for an extended period of time may be euthanized because of a lack of room if they are not adopted or rescued.

Euthanizing dogs is not an easy decision and it will have to be addressed on a day-to-day basis as new dogs are brought in by animal control officers, citizens and outlying cities and counties that the shelter is contracted to take in. Our animal shelter in Texarkana, Ark., is the only shelter in this area. It is an open admission shelter which means they take every animal that comes through the door.

Without the use of the downstairs building, the shelter will pop at the seams much quicker than it has in the past. Most animal shelters operated by the city have to run on a tight timeline for animals. If they are not reclaimed, adopted or rescued, animals are euthanized. So what is happening in Texarkana is nothing new to folks who have been in the rescue or shelter business.

Lokey was interviewed in June by one of the news stations regarding the over-population at the shelter. By the responses on social media last night after I posted the videos and photos of animals that were on the "Euth List," you'd think that no one watched the segment. Unfortunately it came as a shock to most folks who haven't been watching the warning signs, social media or television.

We need to pull together as a community and help fix this situation. A new shelter building and/or facility is desperately needed. Wouldn't it be nice to have a location that is easier for the general population to get to in order to adopt? I don't know if that is possible but if enough people want to make it happen, I believe it can.

Here is the video tour of the downstairs building that was taken on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

These still photos should speak for themselves as well:

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