Bella Vista Proud

2021

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Bella Vista Proud The Weekly Vista Wednesday, June 30, 2021 F 7C http://bellavistatv.com/ Broadcasting since 1981 Community Focused Community Meetings broadcasted Event Driven All locally produced shows can be viewed www.youtube.com/user/BellaVistaCommTV Want to Be a Volunteer? 479-855-4040 or 479-268-8325 or visit the station Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. We are Your Bella Vista TV Station I n f o r m - E d u c aT E - E n T E r Ta I n Find us on Cox Cable Channel 222 and U-verse Channel 99 and You Tube 1801 Forest Hills Blvd. • Suite 203 Bella Vista, AR • bellavistatv.com HOME • BUSINESS • AUTO • LIFE • HEALTH Do More with Village www.VillageInsurance.net Our goal is to be the trusted advisor you rely on for all your insurance needs. Village Insurance, Inc. 479-254-7070 479-855-3076 479-855-3714 • www.concordiaretirement.com 1 Concordia Drive • Bella Vista Best Assisted Living Best Independent Living Like us on Concordia's legacy is in the lives that have been influenced by almost 50 years of senior care. The Hill Top experience is a story to tell but more importantly a story thats been lived. Come see whats special on the Hill Top and start living your legacy with Concordia. Livin g a L e g ac y Ask about our Summer Specials! The Bella Vista Animal Shelter has been serving the community and caring for lost and abandoned animals for more than a quarter century. Shelter director Deidre Knight said she's been working with the shelter since 2002 and worked as director since 2008 — and she's extremely proud of the shelter. One point of pride, she said, is that the shelter only euthanizes animals who are not going to survive ei - ther way. In 2020, this came in at 0.5% of the animals that the shelter took in, she said. "To us, a life is a life," she said. "To us all animals are adoptable. Some of them may take longer." There have been recent successes with both cats and dogs who had been with the shelter for a long time, she added. In addition to adoptions, the shelter often reunites people with their lost an - imals. Social media is a huge help, as are microchips, she explained. When a dog, for instance, is brought in, the shelter checks them for a microchip — even if a check has already been performed, just in case — and if that produces infor - mation staff can contact the animal's owner. Failing that, the animal will be quarantined until their vaccinations can be provided and a post about the animal goes on the shelter's social media pag - es, which have been a huge help, she said. If the animal isn't collect- ed within a day, the shelter gets it vaccinated and ready to adopt, she said. The two biggest chal- lenges are space and funding, she said, and the former is likely to be felt very soon. "We're back in kitten season, I'm not sure it ever ended," Knight said. The biggest expenses are staffing — particularly because someone needs to be there every single day, including holidays — and vet bills, she added. "We've got to either make them healthy or keep them healthy," she explained. Knight said that she's also frequently impressed by all the help the shelter receives. The shelter has six peo - ple on staff, she said, but when volunteers are need- ed it's not uncommon to see 100 to 150 individuals show up. Volunteers and donors are primarily Bella Vistans, but there are peo- ple from all over Northwest Arkansas who pitch in, she explained. "We are very blessed by our community and the support we get," Knight said. Susan Oliver volunteered to walk dogs earlier this month and she's also ad - opted two dogs from the shelter. She's volunteered for about three years and finds the shelter's dogs easy to get along with more often than not, she said. "I fell in love with more dogs than I can count," she said. She works because she loves these animals and wants to help out, she added. Anyone interested in adopting should check out the shelter, she said, noting there are always great ani - mals to adopt. As an adopter, Oliver said she's been very impressed with the shelter staff, who consistently work to get people with the right an - imals. She brought her Stafford- shire terrier mix, Luther, to meet other dogs and try to find a good fit with him and staff worked closely with her and her dog, she said. They ended up adopting another Staffordshire ter - rier mix, Fagan, about two months ago. "It's going well so far," Ol- iver said. "We love both of them and I wouldn't trade them for the world." Keith Bryant kbryant@nwadg.com Shelter does right by Bella Vista's animals Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Lilo (left, sitting on the counter) hangs out with Bella Vista Animal Shelter director Deidre Knight while Rorey Hargraves, who said she was planning to adopt a puppy, fills out adoption paperwork and speaks with shelter manager Laurie May. Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Tia, a friendly cat at the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, shows off her half dozen kittens as they nap alongside her.

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