MIDLAND, Texas — Midland Animal Shelter Adoptables (MASA) is a foster based 501c3 non-profit organization that prides itself on making a positive impact on the Midland animal population.
Dog dumping has been a growing problem in the community and MASA wants the public to know that better and safer options are available. For the last 10 years, MASA has made it their mission get more animals out of the shelters and into a loving environment.
MASA dog coordinator Kelsey Hughes says their main goal is to get euthanasia numbers down at the shelters.
“That’s just by advocating, fostering, adopting, responsible pet ownership, anything like that,” Hughes says. “We really work on just trying to get the dogs out the shelter.”
Hughes went on to say that MASA normally focuses on the shelter animals that may face euthanasia, but they also dedicate time to animals that are dumped.
On Tuesday night, two small puppies were rescued in the Greenwood area after MASA saw a Facebook post leading them to the field.
“I had one of my friends reach out to me,” Hughes continues. “She noticed three puppies next to a box in the same area. So we figured those are both from the same litter because they’re right in the same area and they all look pretty similar.”
Unfortunately, one of the puppies was hit by a vehicle and did not survive.
Most dumped dogs MASA finds are left near oil field roads where no one is going to look for an abandoned dog.
“When people dump dogs, you never know how many dogs they dumped, so you never know how many you’re looking for,” Hughes says. “You never know did somebody pick one of them up? Did somebody pick two of them up? You don’t know, so you’re just kind of walking around aimlessly searching.”
Kasha Sport is a MASA volunteer and animal advocate. She says that shelter animals have always had a place in her heart, so it hurts to see people dumping dogs when there are other options.
“First and foremost, abandonment is not only illegal, it is cruel and inhumane so if you find a dumped dog or if you have animals, you can’t care for or don’t know where to go reach out to your local rescues,” Sport says. “We have amazing rescues here in Midland Reach out to them first, work with them, they will do their best to try and help you. And if that doesn’t pan out, Midland Animal Shelter is an open-intake facility.”
One stigma among the animal population is that animal shelters only kill, but Tasha has a response for that.
“A humane euthanasia is much better than dogs that are dumped, being hit, as one of the siblings to these were, starving to death, dying of dehydration, causing wrecks, being mauled by wildlife,” Sport continues. “Taking them to the shelter is not worst-case scenario. It’s a better thing than dumping them."
Leaving your animal in the care of a professional is always encouraged over the alternative.
“They’re left out there to survive on their own and they are companion animals,” Sport says. “They do not have the ability to survive on their own, especially puppies.
The goal is that people take better care of their animals. Utilize shelters and other resources available to keep your puppies safe.