By Paige Nash
LaMa Animal Rescue functions as a nonprofit volunteer-based organization that advocates for the homeless, abused and neglected animals in northwest Louisiana and surrounding areas.
This group mainly focuses on rescuing these animals and finding fosters to take them in on a temporary basis, until it is suitable to provide more permanent placement.
“We have 20 volunteers and fosters,” said President and Co-founder of this rescue Michelle Benson. “We currently have 72 dogs and 19 cats in our care at this time.”
Once the animals are cleared through a veterinarian, they become available for adoption. Those who are interested in adopting must pass a background check, provide vet and personal references, and agree to a home visit by the organization. Last year, they saved a total of 689 dogs and 40 cats.
LaMa also focuses heavily on spaying and neutering for both dogs and cats. In 2022, they spayed 87 dogs and 34 cats. They neutered a total of 64 dogs and 34 cats. These numbers reflect cats and dogs that come through their rescue as well as animals in the community.
They aid members of the community in filling out the required forms for these procedures, as well as transportation to vet clinics if needed.
Recently LaMa Animal Rescue wrote and received a vaccination grant from Petco Love. This allowed them to cover the expenses for DHPP shots, also known as a 5-1 vaccine, that prevents distemper, parvovirus, parainfluenza and two types of adenoviruses in dogs. In addition, they offered a FVRCP vaccine that prevents 3 highly contagious feline diseases – feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia.
They have previously hosted 1 drive-through clinic in Minden and 3 in Springhill with plans to hold more this year.
This 5013c relies solely on donations and grants like this one to carry out their mission. 95 percent of the money they raise and receive goes towards vetting expenses while the other 5 percent is used towards supplies.
If you would like to volunteer or become a foster for LaMa Animal Rescue, please contact Michelle Benson at lamaanimalrescue@gmail.com.
If you are interested in donating, you can click the link to their PayPal below.
Benson said, “We can always use puddle pads, dog food, puppy food and money to cover medical expenses. We use ProPlan puppy and Purina One adult.”