Frequently Asked Questions
What facilities do you currently have?
ARK has no facilities of its own. We are a group of volunteers dedicated to the companion animals of Hart County. We worked very hard with the Hart County Fiscal Court and Judge Executive, Joe Choate, to realize our shared vision - a shelter in Hart County. By result, the new Hart County Animal Shelter opened in March, 2022. The shelter is managed by the county, with assistance from ARK. Be sure to check out the Hart County Animal Shelter Facebook page. Their number is 270-524-1692.
Who do I call to pick up a stray dog?
The Hart County Judge Executive is responsible for the Hart County Animal Control Program. If you need a dog picked up during workdays from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, call the Hart County Animal Shelter at 270-524-1692. After hours, you can leave a message. If it is an emergency, call the State Police Dispatch at 270-842-8572.
What have you done since you formed ARK?
When we formed ARK in November, 2015, our initial priorities were: 1) to build our membership base, 2) to ensure we had seated a well-qualified board of directors, and 3) to focus on how best to help address the animal welfare needs in Hart County. Within four months of becoming legally recognized by the state of Kentucky as Animal Rescue Kare, we were able to build our membership to almost 200 members, adopt a set of bylaws, elect a 9-member board of directors and board officers, achieve our federal tax exempt status (which allows our supporters to make tax deductible donations), and begin to raise funds in support of two programs that we started as our determined best approach to address animal welfare needs in Hart county - the Spay-Neuter Program and the Pet Fostering Program.
Our fundraisers have allowed ARK to support its valued programs. Since 2016, we’ve provided thousands of low-cost spay/neuter vouchers to the public. In January, 2018, we started accepting animals into our pet foster program. Having secured finding through grants, in 2019 we began a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. TNR helps stray cats by neutering/spaying and returning them to their outdoor homes. It’s beneficial for the cats and for their neighbors.
Leveraging the power of social media, we strive to provide solutions for pet owners through ARK’s Facebook page. Our Facebook presence allows us to engage directly with our community of pet lovers. We have helped countless lost-and-found pets get back home, helped find loving homes for many more, and provided information and assistance where needed.
Where is the animal shelter?
The Hart County Animal Shelter is located at the southern corner of the Fairgrounds right along 31W. Their sign is clearly visible from the highway and they post their open hours at their door.
What have you done to help animals since you formed?
From the first day, we have lent our assistance to our fellow animal owners in Hart County to help them solve their problems with animal control: assisting the Hart County Fiscal Court’s animal control officer to feed and care for rescued animals, publicizing and re-uniting lost animals and owners, networking to help retrieve lost animals that are in trouble, and helping find adoptive new owners for unwanted animals.
Our vouchers have helped to spay-neuter many animals throughout the county. We are continually raising money and distributing these vouchers.
In 2018, we started a pet fostering program for surrendered animals, providing temporary homes until forever homes can be found. Our Trap-Neuter-Return program has helped hundreds of stray cats and their human neighbors - by fixing the cats, improving their health, and reducing unwanted mating behaviors - not to mention reducing the number of unwanted litters. We are currently seeking volunteers to assist our coordinators for the TNR and Foster/adoption programs.
Does Animal Control pick up cats and kittens?
No, the Hart County Animal Control Officer and the Shelter only handle dogs. There is no formal pickup program for cats in Hart County. As far as governmental agencies go nearby, your Hart County cats may be surrendered to BRAWA (in Barren County) for a fee but only if they have space. Call first to see if they have room: 270-651-7297. You can also try the Bowling Green/Warren County shelter at 270-842-8572.
What about cats and kittens? If not the county, then who?
As you saw just above, the county government does not handle felines at all. KY law doesn’t require them to and they’ve got their hands full with all the dogs in the county. So please give them all the support you can for what they can do for any animals in our area. However, we all know that feline issues remain throughout our service area whether or not County government can help the public out with their cats and kittens.
ARK has neither the authority nor the equipment to pick up stray animals. Based on your diligent review of this site, you already know that ARK works hard through our TNR program to humanely deal with the area’s stray, community and feral cats. You also already know that ARK handles surrendered cats and kittens through our feline foster program. Unfortunately, being an all-volunteer organization with limited resources, we can only meet a small fraction of the need in this area. At any given time, our foster coordinator probably has more than 20 kittens and cats in our program and the throughput is astounding. We are so glad to be able to find loving furrever homes for the cats and kittens that we can accept into our program.
I called you about my cat problem but I just don’t think you want to help me. Why not?
If you inquire and we can’t accept your felines into foster it’s probably because we are overwhelmed with serving the felines already in the program. So, as with many other things in life, oftentimes the solution lies within the hearts and minds of those calling us for help. In other words, sometimes the most timely help you might receive is self help. Here’s a poignant fact - did you know that nationwide, ~40% of cats that enter shelters never come out? They are euthanized, oftentimes for health or lack of space reasons.
If you cared enough to call and ask, then perhaps you can find it in your heart to help us to help you by agreeing to feed strays and report the feline colonies to us for possible TNR. Although we stress that TNR cats should be returned to where they came from - to avoid having other (new to you) cats just come in and take over the vacated territory - we’ve had some TNR cases where we fixed the mama cat and helped to find homes for her very young kittens. We’ve found that feral tinies may still be amenable to tame human interaction if a caring human (like you!) can begin the process early enough in their new lives. Such kittens can go on to become wonderful pets in their furrever homes. In high-risk colonies this can be a win-win as the babies come out of a dire situation and go into a loving home once they are weaned and vetted. Perhaps you can work hard to try and find homes for unwanted cats and kittens on your property. In all cases please remember that we offer BRAWA vouchers (online 24/7 or at the Sheriff’s office during their business hours) for $35 that cover the costs of fixing one cat, either sex.
As we say to everyone who calls, we can post any cats or kittens that are in need of re-homing or adoption on our Facebook page. We can also share links for cats posted up elsewhere, such as on your own facebook page. You may not realize it but, thanks to the power of social media, this is quite an effective way to get cats into loving homes. Help us to help you by working with us to post them up!
Do you have a foster program?
Yes, for felines. Our foster program began in January, 2018. Click here for more information. The ARK foster program is currently for cats and kittens, as we work with the Hart County Animal Shelter to support their dog foster program. Call the shelter at 270-524-1692 for more information about their dogs.
Can I adopt an animal from you? Yes, ARK usually has a varied assortment of wonderful cats and kittens in foster care awaiting their furrever homes. ARK posts them on PetFinder, linked under our foster tab. You can adopt dogs from the Hart County Animal Shelter.
What is ARK?
ARK is an all-volunteer, federally tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in November, 2015 in the state of Kentucky. We currently have over 200+ members, all combining our efforts to help improve animal welfare in Hart County. All donations to ARK are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
When is your next spay-neuter-voucher event?
We currently have 4 or 5 voucher (SNR) events each year, selling sometimes as many as 100 vouchers at each one. These vouchers can be used at Riverside Animal Clinic or Hartland Animal Hospital. It’s making a big impact - reducing many unwanted litters. The ARK SNR program has grown so much that it has outstripped the capacity of our local vets to schedule and perform all the surgeries within the 90-day expiration period of our vouchers. As such, we will have to avoid overloading our vets by selling too many vouchers at the same event. Check our Facebook page or website “Events” page for the current voucher event dates and details about how many vouchers will be offered.
We also have partnered with Barren River Animal Welfare Association (BRAWA) to provide vouchers for cats. You can buy as many as you need, any time, from the Hart County Sheriff’s office or in our website shop. These vouchers must be redeemed at BRAWA.
For more information, please contact us.