Animal Shelter Hours:
Monday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
 Shelter is open weekends by appointment
Street Address is:
820 Isaac Rd
 
P.O. Box 1331
Louisa, Ky
Telephone: (606)-673-4509

Welcome to the Lawrence County Humane Society Animal Shelter

Please Adopt A ShelterAnimal And Save A Life.....
 The Open Arms Animal Shelter now has an on-line “Adoption Application” which can be found at the following link https://forms.gle/EorXARSG8RrNKTi59

With much sadness and a heavy heart, the Lawrence County Humane Society is announcing effective May 1, 2023, the Open Arms Animal Shelter will no longer be the shelter for the Lawrence County Fiscal Court.

You may wonder why we made this decision. In February, we found out the County had set up a shelter in the voting building at the entrance to the county garage on Highway 32. The County did not tell us. We heard it from a cashier at Walmart. We contacted the Judge’s office for clarification and were told by the Assistant Judge Executive it was for overflow when the Open Arms shelter was full.

We set up a meeting with Judge Carter to discuss and at that meeting, we were told we didn’t know how to run a shelter, we were always full and couldn’t take animals when animal control wanted to bring them, we had been a problem since the day we opened our doors and that all we do is ask for money on Facebook. 

At that time, Animal Control had brought us 2 hounds with broken pelvises, a pregnant dog almost hairless from mange who vet said not to treat until pups were born and weaned, a dog with nerve damage to his head, 2 dogs with ringworm and mange which are contagious conditions meaning they could not leave until cleared.  All of these took a month or more to clear so they could leave the shelter, not to mention more vet bills.

Judge Carter asked us to write a proposal to address his concerns. We had a second meeting with him and presented a proposal for the county to help fund the cat shelter, giving the county access to TNR grant money and room to accommodate more cats, and we would go on our own with the dogs.   We told the county at that time we had room at the shelter for dogs and cats and it seemed like the county was willing to work together. 

Since the last meeting, there has been little communication. Any communication has been on our end. We have contacted the County Judge and the Animal Control Officer several times and told them we had room available. We received no response or an OK. Early on, the county brought us 3 hounds which had been in their shelter for a month and no animals have been brought to us since. We were told if we don’t bring animals to you, we aren’t paying you, even though we have taken several animals from the citizens of Lawrence County after they called us saying they got no response from the County or County told them they were full.

We have provided animal sheltering services to the Lawrence County Fiscal Court for 29 years. During this time, we have worked with several County Judge Executives, Animal Control Officers and Magistrates. For the past 29 years, we have received $1833.34 dollars a month with which we were expected to operate the shelter, pay the bills, employ workers and do maintenance on the buildings and property. In 2022, it took almost $130,000 to operate the shelter and this would have not been possible had we not received the support of our local community, rescue partners and individuals from all over the country. Thank you for always supporting us and trusting us to take care of the unwanted animals in this county.

During these 29 years, we received an average of six hundred animals per year. That is approximately 17,000 animals that were treated humanely and given another chance for a better life.  We not only helped the animals in this county but we also helped many people. We helped individuals with veterinarian bills and helped spay and neuter personal pets where people were not able pay for these services. There was barely enough to keep the shelter running and many times we as individuals helped our citizens.

We are very lucky to have as one of our volunteers, Bev Pack, who has tirelessly advocated for the people and cats of Lawrence County. In 2016, she wrote for the first grant to help the cats and people in the county. 1318 cats have been spayed or neutered through the voucher program. These vouchers are for individuals that have cats in Lawrence County. 904 Trap and Release cats have been fixed and relocated to places where they are fed and now live in safety, including 30-40 cats residing at the shelter. Bev Pack continues to apply for grants to help the animals of Lawrence County. We thank her for all she has accomplished.

We are still a functioning shelter with animals in our care. It is in our best interest to move on from this partnership due to lack of respect and communication. We will continue to take animals from Lawrence County citizens.

We will need to make up the $1833.34 a month we will no longer receive from the County.  We appreciate everyone’s past support and hope you will continue to stand with us and support us so we can continue to help the voiceless animals of Lawrence County. If you need to reach us, please call the shelter 8-3 Mon-Fri at 606-673-4509 or contact us through mail at Open Arms Animal Shelter, PO Box 1331, Louisa KY 41230.

 

Humphrey's House
  Humphrey was the shelter dog for about 6 years until he passed away.

Wilson's House
Wilson was the first cat to come into the shelter 20 years ago when it opened.

 

The Open Arms Animal Shelter has a reclaim fee of $10.00 dollars per day starting
with the day the animal is brought in. All animals are vaccinated and wormed when they come in. Those costs will Need to be paid when the animal is reclaimed. On
the fifth day the animal becomes the Legal property of the animal shelter and
will have to be adopted back which means it will have to be spayed and or neutered plus any other expenses will need to be paid that have occurred.

Thanks so much to our Sponsors for all our help!!

 

More Pet Resources and other Pet Information

  • Pet Health Insurance - complete with an interactive quiz to help determine whether or not to consider insuring your pet
  • Dog Food - Wet vs. Dry? What features matter most? This guide even has a Dangerous Foods infographic to show what may occur when your dog eats one of the top 10 most "dangerous" foods
  • Cat Food - Dr. Ken Tudor, expert in pet nutrition, has filmed several short videos all about selecting the best food for your feline

Please adopt a shelter pet. We have many dogs, puppies, cats and kittens that need loving
forever homes.
 
Our adoption fee includes the spay or neuter, vaccinations, rabies (if old enough), worming and in the case with cats, a pain shot.  Our animals have been handled on a daily basis and are ready for a new home.  Please come and spend some time with them.

 

The Lawrence County Humane Society is experiencing large bills this month and needs everyone's help to get through this tough time. We are here for the animals and for the Community.  Please help if you can by sending a donation to the Lawrence Co Humane Society or by sponsoring the payment of one of our monthly bills.  Every little bit helps. 

The Lawrence County Humane Society Animal Shelter owned and operated by The Lawrence County Humane Society.  Established 1995 for the purpose of preventing cruelty to animals, relieving suffering among animals, and extending humane education.

Use the Internet and Support the Lawrence County Humane Society Animal Shelter
 
If you use the internet to do searches, please use www.GoodSearch.com instead of the other search engines.  For every search done, we will get a penny.  And those pennies can add up!  Just type in "Lawrence County Humane Society (Louisa, KY)" in the block that says "Who do you GoodSearch for?" and then click "Verify".  Then start searching.
 
Also, if you do internet shopping please use www.GoodShop.com.  This is a collaboration of hundreds of merchants who will give us a percentage of all your purchases if you shop through the GoodShop.com site to one of their participating merchants.  Just click on the store's logo and then shop as you normally would!  You get the exact same prices and service as if you went directly to the store's website.
 
Help spread the word about www.GoodSearch.com and www.GoodShop.com to your friends, family, and work associates!  Thanks.




 
Last Updated:
May 14, 2023
Design By:
Allen Kelly
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