McDonald’s Grant awarded to ARK’s TNR Program
Pictured are David Clement, Brittany Poynter, Laura Clement, Kaleb Lafever, and Eleah Trousdale on site of a trap, neuter, return event.
Katrina England
Reporter, Hart Co. News-Herald
Animal Rescue Kare’s TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) program received a $300 grant from the employees and owner of the Munfordville McDonald’s.
The store’s owner, Tom Burrell, encourages employees to give back to the community, and doubles grant amounts from $150 to $300 for charitable organizations if the employees are able to donate service hours along with the funds. The Munfordville McDonald’s crew chose Animal Rescue Kare (ARK).
When ARK’s TNR team receives a report of a stray cat colony from a resident within the boundaries of Hart County, they work with the family to provide trapping, housing and transportation of cats to be altered. Each cat is either spayed (females) or neutered (males) and gets a rabies vaccination. The left ear of each cat is “tipped” while they are under anesthesia so he or she can later be identified as a cat who has been altered.
On the evening of August 2nd, David & Laura Clement, of ARK’s TNR team, arranged a trapping event with the crew from the Munfordville McDonald’s. Hart County resident, Peggy Pennington, had identified a colony of stray cats on her property, and graciously agreed to all parties gathering at the property to capture the stray cats.
Munfordville McDonald’s Manager, Brittany Poynter, her husband John Poynter, Eleah Trousdale, and Kaleb Lafever joined the TNR team on site.
“My team loved having the opportunity to help with this program,” said Poynter. “Laura is so knowledgeable and really cares about the community. (We are) so blessed to have a boss who lets us give back to Hart County.”
The team successfully captured ten cats who were then transported to BRAWA early the following morning, and the Pennington family also transported one tame cat to Hartland Animal Hospital. This brings the grand total to 700 felines since the launch of the TNR program in the spring of 2019. All proceeds of the McDonald’s grant will go directly to the veterinary bills to cover the spay/neuter surgeries and rabies vaccinations for these cats.
The cats are kept indoors overnight after the surgery to ensure their safety, and then returned to their outdoor home the following day. Keeping the cats confined overnight after the procedures allows them to wake up from anesthesia, eat a full dinner and breakfast, and be observed for any potential complications from surgery.
“Feral cats aren’t candidates to be adopted for pets and would most likely be euthanized if taken to an animal shelter,” said Laura Clement. “TNR is the humane option for these animals…. Since felines reproduce in staggering numbers, it’s up to pet owners to spay and neuter their cats to prevent overpopulation. It takes just one queen and free-roaming Tom cat to launch an entire colony of strays. We owe it to them!”
Please report strays at our website ark4hart.org or purchase unlimited cat vouchers at the sheriff’s office for $25 each if you are a resident of Hart County. The $25 vouchers must be used at BRAWA in Glasgow. Call the number at the top of the voucher to schedule your appointment.
The TNR Team has trapped, neutered, and returned 700 cats since their 2019 beginning.
