Lawrence shelter involved in animal rescues

County dog tags are mandatory for pet owners in Lawrence County, and a discount is available on them for the next two months.

Melissa Nicely, poundkeeper for the Lawrence County Dog Shelter, said dog owners can get the tags at the shelter now for $12. Tags are also available at the county auditor’s office. After Feb. 1, the cost will be $24.

Tags are also available at a number of shops throughout Lawrence County, but there is a 75-cent fee per tag for those not purchased at the shelter or auditor’s office.

Nicely said the shelter will be open for its regular hours for the next month, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon-4 p.m. on Saturdays. The shelter will be closed from Dec. 24-27 and Dec. 31-Jan. 4 for the holidays.

Nicely said the shelter has moved a lot of dogs recently, but still has plenty of puppies available.

In addition, the shelter has been involved with both in and out-of-state animals rescues.

“We have a whole network,” Nicely said.

The shelter has worked with Stop the Suffering, an animal rescue group who visits the shelter every week to help find homes for the dogs across several states.

“We’ve moved almost 600 dogs this year,” Nicely said.

Long-term residents at the shelter were recently featured on Armstrong Cable’s channel 4 in a short video segment that aired through the past month. “Pets for Life” helped to publicize the dogs up for adoption.

“It was rather nice of them to do it free of charge,” Nicely said. “It aired two to three times a week.”