CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE:   Let me start by saying, this is an easy fix IF the mayor would even allow for this to be brought in front of the city council to be voted on. It seems he doesn't care, and all of these animals are suffering in silence. They do not have a voice and no one even really knows that there is even a shelter in Minden. It is up to Mayor Terry Gardner to allow change to happen, so these animals can have a chance to live. Please tell the mayor to upgrade the facility and the policies/procedures and stop killing all of these innocent animals that could be networked and adopted. The Minden Animal Shelter has had no upgrades or changes in many many years.

Volunteers:  NONE ALLOWED! Other shelters have a "Friends/Volunteers" page and the volunteers take pictures and network all the dogs online. At the Minden shelter, they do not even allow for volunteers to be in the shelter. Why not? NO ONE KNOWS. That in itself, should scream RED FLAG.

Budget:   The shelter's budget is $90K per year and that includes the 2 shelter employees' income. They are fully reliant on donations from outside resources. So, it's a city job, BUT the city doesn't help or support the shelter the way it should. That is unfair and inhumane.

Adoption:  They do not have an approved on-site/walk-in adoption program. They claim they don't have the money allocated to keep up with the sanitation and spay/neuter adoption laws. It is a shelter with little to no public traction. The animals do not get networked the way that other shelters do. In order to adopt one of the animals, there are so many hoops that someone has to go through. If someone sees a dog online from the shelter, they cannot go and adopt the dog from the shelter. It is the responsibility of the person who wants the dog, to contact one of several third-party animal rescues, and ask them to pull them from the shelter as their own. Then, the person can fill out the necessary paperwork for the rescue to adopt it. Sounds like a great system right? NO! In Louisiana there are no breeding/spay/neuter laws, therefore, the rescues within a 100 mile or more radius are FULL and cannot take on the liability of another animal. The potential adopter then just gives up because the process is too extensive and complicated. In turn, the animal gets euthanized within days. This is not a fair process for these animals. They have NO CHANCE at a second chance in the Minden Shelter. 

Facilities:   Their facilities are not adequate for the animals. They do not even have a washer and dryer for the sanitation of blankets. They have outdoor kennels, so how do these animals stay warm? How do they rid themselves of filth and disease? A pregnant dog had her puppies in the shelter a couple weeks ago, and ALL of the puppies died fairly quickly. This is unacceptable.

There is an extremely HIGH euthanasia rate. These animals are lucky if one makes it out alive. Please sign this petition, even if you are not a Minden resident, to give these animals a voice! This shelter is pulling from other city resources, people, and rescues, that should be focusing on their OWN local shelters. Changes need to be made! It is 2020. Time for the Minden Animal Shelter to start running it that way. Thank you all for your support! PLEASE SIGN AND THEN SHARE!!!