This is Miko, a 9-month-old cattle dog/shepherd mix. She originally came to us as an unclaimed stray a few weeks ago. It was obvious right away that this dog was very scared of humans. Her eyes told a story of mistrust and trauma. She was lunging and slamming herself against the kennel walls, barking frantically, panting excessively, and just in general extremely afraid of us.
We soon found out that Miko was intentionally dumped. The saddest part of that is she was the 2nd dog in 3 weeks time we found out were dumped by their owner. 
We don’t want to dwell on that, and ask that we don’t get into a bashing frenzy. Here at Catkins we have always tried to focus on the FUTURE of an animal, not the past. We bring it up because it’s important to know that this is happening a lot more in our community.
We have many folks call us on a weekly basis to surrender their pets. Our facility is very small, and we only have 10 dogs kennels and a small staff. Nearly 100% of that time those kennels are full or we have pop up crates along side them housing even more dogs. The same definitely can be said of our cat intake (and that need is even higher). Often, when someone calls to surrender their pet, we have to say, “I’m sorry we are at capacity and will need to add your animal to a waiting list.”
This is why we are planning a building expansion, but that takes a lot of money, planning, and time. We will always do what we can, when we can, but it will take time. We want to get to a point where our waiting lists barely exist and we can comfortably help animals that need us at a faster pace.
This is why we need fosters, adopters, and volunteers. A village it takes for sure. Last year, despite our space issues, we were able to take in nearly 500 area animals and care for them.
When an animal is dumped intentionally, not only is the animal put in danger, but they are then added to a facility already very stressed with so many animals. We also then are left without ANY information on the animal’s past-that information is SO important for finding a good home for the cat or dog. Yes, sometimes people will have to wait, but your pet is worth waiting for. If you go through the proper protocol, your animal will have a much, much easier transition into finding a new home through our facility. If you are worried we will judge you, please know the only judgement will be that we respect that you went the proper route to surrender your pet. 
We are so happy Miko is now here with us. She is a very traumatized dog and basically semi feral. We are definitely making progress with this beautiful girl! She has really been warming up more and today she laid by my feet for quite some time when she could’ve easily went to the other side of the room away from me. It’s clear she wants love and attention from us, but due to whatever she experienced before coming here, she isn’t sure how to go about that. We are positive that we can help rehabilitate her to the point she will find a loving home!
As I mentioned, we really don’t want to turn this into a bashing post of any kind. We fully understand life circumstances can lead to needing to re-home a pet, and we would never shame someone for doing so. Please, if you are finding that to be the case, do it the proper way by contacting us (or your local shelter) and seeing what your options are, or you can be placed on the waiting list if they are full.
If you are in Price County and need help with your animal, please contact us via email: catkins_wi@yahoo.com or contact the Price County Humane Officer for resources and information.