Saving the lives of dogs and cats in Vicksburg is easier than one may think

One can help save the lives of dogs and cats in Vicksburg and it takes a lot less effort than most would believe.

It’s becoming apparent that the strays in the city can be found on every corner. Citizens of Vicksburg are desperate for this problem to be remedied, while a few heroes work behind the scenes to get these animals off of the streets and into loving homes. One of those heroes is Alexa Jeffers, who at the age of 23 has fostered thousands of dogs.

At 12 years old, Jeffers and her mother, Cappy Strawn, began a personal rescue operation that they call HART (Helping Animals Reach Tomorrow) which Jeffers now runs on her own.

Kacie Lindsey, supervisor of the Vicksburg Animal Shelter, mentioned the shelter, which was at max capacity just last week, was relieved to be processing three adoptions on Thursday. A German Shepherd will be meeting his forever family and a pair of Labs, who bonded and became inseparable, will never have to be in a home without one another.

Lindsey, who has been working hard to make stories like these happen, noted, “Hart rescue and Dianne Gargaro need to be mentioned if we’re talking about how the animals are getting out of the shelter.”

What many may not realize is just how easy it actually is to help save the animals.

In a statement from Jeffers, she mentioned, “what people don’t realize is that we could get 99.9% of these dogs out (of the shelter) and get them rescued if we had foster families. To be a foster takes no financial burden off of someone. We can cover all costs. I think a lot of people are afraid of getting stuck with the dog(s) they foster but there are guaranteed rescues up north for dogs that can be pulled. We can’t pull dogs if we don’t have a temporary place to put them.”

To be a foster means to temporarily house an animal in need until it can be transported to a rescue or re-homed.

It turns out helping doesn’t have to be a long term commitment and the shelter has a chance to make room for more strays with the help of others. If just three people can make such a huge difference, imagine what a hundred could do.

If someone is interested in becoming a foster, they may reach out to the Vicksburg City Shelter or visit the Facebook page HART-(Helping Animals Reach Tomorrow) and reach out.