About HSPC
The mission of Humane Society of Pulaski County is to rescue, rehabilitate, provide veterinary care, spay/neuter, and find loving homes for Central Arkansas dogs and cats in need.
Erica
…now Ruth, came to us, a victim of abuse and neglect. Though Erica’s back legs were paralyzed from a gunshot to her back, her sweet accepting spirit was not phased. It was as if no ordinary home was the right one for this little angel. She needed to be where she could spread the gift of acceptance and joy of life. The minute her potential adopters saw her their eyes filled with tears. They knew immediately that this little dog had a gift, not a handicap. Ruth (Erica) went to work right away with her new family who happened to work at a center for the homeless. Imagine the effect of a little dog who feels no regrets, knows no prejudice, and shares unconditional acceptance on those who have nothing left except life. Erica continues to spread light and love to everyone she meets despite an irreversible handicap.
Hope
…a young grey tabby who touched the heart of a hunter who found her in the woods with a twisted and broken front left leg. Like her name, she had not given up and was managing to compensate on the old injury. HSPC took her in having no choice but to amputate the leg. During her ordeal, the nature of this sweet kitty never changed. Her loving disposition and will to survive is an example of what inspires us to go on. Just as the hunter could not pass her by, a volunteer thought life is always better with a little “Hope” in it, so she adopted her.
Rescues from Neglect & Abuse
Occasionally the Humane Society of Pulaski County takes on cases that involve multiple animals including those from hoarding situations and puppy mills. One such case involved several dogs that had been dumped on a rural property for years. The elderly lady who once lived there did all she could to feed them until she succumbed to her own health issues. The overgrown, dilapidated property was infested with parasites and vermin. The dogs she left behind were competing for scraps of food put out occasionally by the actual property owner. They were suffering from illness, hair loss, wounds and orthopedic issues, not to mention broken spirits and lack of trust in humans who continued to let them down. Though some neighbors expressed concern for these dogs, many saw them as nuisances that just needed to disappear. We saw something else… precious lives that deserved second chances. We were happy to provide that.
Key Personnel
SHELTER MANAGER: Debra Martin
ASSISTANT MANAGER: Leo Weston
FACILITIES MANAGER: Robert Ward
VETERINARIAN: Teresa Medlock Pratt, DVM
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR/MARKETING: Julie Austin
FOSTER COORDINATOR: Monique Harvey
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR: Heath Nicholson
History
Funded a new shelter facility
The new shelter houses more animals. It gives Central Arkansas a focal point for the animals and creates an animal-friendly location for volunteers and citizens alike to see the animals, attend education programs and obedience classes, and become responsible guardians. More specific behavioral rehabilitation will occur and more injured animals can be saved with the enhanced medical facilities.
Saved over 60,000 animals
HSPC’s sheltering, adoption and outreach programs have reached over 60,000 animals since 1946. Many of them were abused, abandoned or stray animals who were rescued from the streets or from “death row” at overcrowded animal control agencies.
Wrote and promoted legislation in 1979
HSPC’s advocacy, legislative and abuse programs promoted state legislation to prohibit the use of decompression chambers, which were used by some Animal Control agencies in Arkansas. The horror of what was occurring prior to HSPC’s intervention is long past, but at the time, living animals were placed in these chambers and slowly exploded from within–a terrifying and agonizing death.
Wrote and promoted legislation in 1979
HSPC’s advocacy, legislative and abuse programs promoted state legislation to prohibit the use of decompression chambers, which were used by some Animal Control agencies in Arkansas. The horror of what was occurring prior to HSPC’s intervention is long past, but at the time, living animals were placed in these chambers and slowly exploded from within–a terrifying and agonizing death.
Wrote and promoted Arkansas’ Retail Pet Store Act of 1991
HSPC’s advocacy, legislative and abuse programs made inhumane conditions in pet stores a crime in Arkansas.
Created “Puppy Love”
HSPC’s Outreach and Humane Education programs have taken animals to local nursing homes, hospitals and area facilities for over 20 years, making the day brighter for thousands of elderly and disabled Arkansans. The Humane Education program has reached thousands of school children with presentations on animals, their proper care and treatment, and respect for all living things.
Wrote and promoted legislation in 1981
HSPC’s advocacy, legislative and abuse programs gave Arkansas’ prosecutors an effective law to deal with this vicious “sport,” which is so closely associated with illegal gambling, drug trafficking and gang activity.
Wrote and promoted Arkansas’ first Spay/Neuter law in 1981
As Arkansas’ leader in the Spay/Neuter effort, HSPC has begun and extended a campaign to end the mass extermination of those species which have loved and served us for eons.
Formed and funded disaster response teams
HSPC was the only private organization working directly in the disaster areas in the wake of the Little Rock tornadoes in 1997 and 1999. We also coordinated resource and supply delivery to affected disaster areas outside Little Rock. In the Central Arkansas relief effort alone, HSPC rescued, treated, rehabilitated and adopted over 250 animals into loving homes. Over 1,300 residents offered their homes to HSPC for foster care and assisted by donating supplies, money and time.
Vision
Advance the “no-kill” philosophy
HSPC will continue to work to make this agreement a reality and then assist other Arkansas communities in ending the senseless slaughter of companion animals in Arkansas. Employees of Central Arkansas’ Animal Control agencies desperately want to be relieved of the terrible duty that falls to them. The solution is in the hands of the citizens of Central Arkansas. HSPC will go as far toward realizing this dream as your support will take us.
Abolish puppy and kitty mills in Arkansas
Our best friends should not be relegated to lives of neglect, starvation, untreated illness and injury, mutilated feet from constant living on wire in quarters too small for movement, living in the stench of ammonia and eating their own excrement, drinking filthy water, encrusted with fleas and mange, making futile attempts to protect their dying infants from extreme weather (both hot and cold) and having those who live torn from them unweaned, sometimes being abandoned to die slowly in wire cages–all in order to provide a “cash crop” for irresponsible and unfeeling humans. Arkansas is among the largest producers of “shelf product” for the pet store industry. While HSPC has begun this journey, it is our continuing mission to change Arkansas from “the problem” into a national example of the solution.
Support and encourage low-cost Spay/Neuter clinics
The only answer to the extermination of 10,000 animals a year in Animal Control agencies in Pulaski County, and thousands more across the state, is continued and aggressive Spay/Neuter programs.
Build a Neonatal Kitten Nursery
Expand our disaster response capability
While we are able to assist outlying communities indirectly at this time, we will expand our disaster response program to assure the capacity to mobilize and assist at the request of any community across Arkansas.
Other Programs and Services
Shelter and Business Office Address
Humane Society of Pulaski County
14600 Colonel Glenn Road
Little Rock, AR 72210
Hours of Operation
Wednesday - Sunday 11:00am - 5:00pm
CLOSED MONDAY and TUESDAY
Telephone: 501-227-6166
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