There are four very lucky animals in Pahrump who are now enriching the lives of those in their new families, thanks to the Out Here With Animals campaign sponsored by Tractor Supply.
The month-long observance included an entire day at stores nationwide dedicated to pets and those who care for them.
In Pahrump, there were pet adoptions hosted by West Star Animal Rescue, a pet supply drive to benefit the rescue and a donation pet wash organized by the local 4H Paw Pack Canine Club, along with deals on pet necessities throughout the store.
Out Here With Animals was held for the first time this year, coming as an extension of Tractor Supply’s former campaign, Pet Appreciation Week. The local endeavor on Aug. 25 was declared a success by all involved, helping to foster the connection between human and critter while raising awareness of two Pahrump Valley organizations devoted to animals.
Pet adoptions
West Star Animal Rescue is a nonprofit, no-kill ranch and pet adoption day volunteers said they were highly grateful for the chance to bring a few of the ranch’s animals out to meet the public. Of course, shifting those animals from the “in need of homes” category to the more heartwarming category of “adopted” was the main mission and ranch officials were excited to report success to this end.
“The event was wonderful,” West Star Animal Rescue Board of Directors member Kim Simon enthused. “Thanks to Tractor Supply, we were able to meet lots of folks in our community who were not familiar with West Star’s animal rescue/adoption programs, and the new on-site thrift store that supports the ranch.
“Four of our animals found forever homes thanks to the Tractor Supply event! Maggie, a 2-year-old boxer mix, Trixie, our adorable kitten, Leroy, a 4-year-old pit bull, and Fearless, a great mouser who is going to help his owner out with rodent control,” Simon continued with obvious delight. “That’s almost a month’s worth of adoptions in one weekend. We are absolutely thrilled.”
Residents who might have missed the Out Here With Animals event and are looking to adopt a new family member can stop by the ranch with no appointment necessary. “We are open for showing dogs and cats Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” Simon stated.
“The prospective adopter will be given a tour of our available animals by our ranch manager, Heidi Wells. Heidi is great at bringing families and pets together, matching up the best critter to fit the needs of the prospective family. Once a decision has been made, there’s a bit of paperwork, a $100 fee for dogs, $50 for cats, some pictures, some happy tears, and a new family is born.”
West Star Animal Rescue, 780 Manse Road in Pahrump, can be reached at 775-727-6505.
Donation pet wash
West Star was just one local organization invited to join in the Out Here With Animals event, with the Pahrump 4H Paw Pack Canine Club taking part as well. Several valley youth were busy in the pet washing station scrubbing down local canines and making them look their best, with all donations for the service going to the club’s coffers. Laurie Butterfield-Tully, canine club leader, said she was extremely pleased to be given the opportunity to participate.
“It’s working out great, I mean, these kids are busting it out!” Butterfield-Tully said brightly as the event was underway. “And Tractor Supply is so generous, they are giving us everything, all the donations people make for the pet wash and use of all the tools for it.”
Butterfield-Tully said the canine club is geared toward teaching young residents proper techniques for handling their animals, training them for competitions and generally creating a strong bond between members and their pets. She detailed that the funds raised at the donation pet wash would go toward the purchase of new training equipment for the club. “The kids would like to have some agility equipment so we have been doing a lot of fundraising,” she said.
Agility equipment can be quite expensive, however, so efforts to gather cash are continuing full force. Donations are always welcome and the club is also seeking good-condition used agility equipment. Those willing to assist are encouraged to contact 4-H at 775-727-5532.
“In about three months, our goal is to be really hardcore into agility classes. In September we start the club back up and we are going to have a foundation class, which is for all new members. And all the kids here who have been training for two years, they have their canine good citizens, obedience training, etcetera, so we will also have an advanced class as well,” Butterfield-Tully stated.
Facilitating help for groups
Pahrump Tractor Supply Manager Mark Slingerland was yet another who was obviously satisfied with the Out Here With Animals event, noting that the store wished to have even more community involvement in the future.
“I think this is a great campaign, a great opportunity,” Slingerland said of the event. “We’re going to be doing this kind of thing more often. I am hoping the next time we do it, we’ll have a little more support and participation from the other organizations here.”
Slingerland remarked that Pahrump Tractor Supply is always open to facilitate fundraisers for local organizations that align with the company’s values, who simply need to reach out in order to arrange their own events. “We do donation drives, car washes, all sorts of different events for these type of organizations. They are always welcome, that is the main thing for us,” Slingerland said. “Like the 4-H club, they are in here probably once a quarter doing different things. For example, we are getting ready for a 4-H paper clover drive, which last time was a huge win for us as a company and for them, and we absolutely love that. But we want them, and others, in here even more often.”
For more information or to organize an event at Tractor Supply call 775-727-1500.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com