Springdale Gets New Animal Shelter Director

Lindsey Droste is no longer supervising the Springdale Animal Shelter. As of Monday, Brett Harris is the new director. No specific reason was given as to why Lindsey is no longer with the shelter, other than she moved out of town.

Harris started work in his new position Monday, taking over after former director Lindsey Droste moved out of town. Harris was picked from a pool of 23 applicants, according to David Tritt, human resource director. Tritt, Mayor Doug Sprouse and Public Works Director Sam Goade, supervisor of animal services, interviewed five candidates.

"Harris has a very impressive resume," Goade said. "His experience made him a very good candidate."

Harris, 39, has served as a police officer, an animal control officer, a veterinary technician, an animal caregiver and an euthanasia technician. He holds a bachelor's degree in animal physiology from the University of California in San Diego.

Harris worked in Montana and Colorado before moving to Northwest Arkansas with his wife and two children. His wife, the former Candice Kettle, is a native of Springdale.

You can read the entire article here. We thought Lindsey did a good job improving the shelters image, and are sorry to see her go. We are always excited to get a chance to work with the rescue groups and shelters who are trying to make a difference, and we're looking forward to meeting Mr. Harris and seeing if there are ways we can work together to help better the pet community here in NWA.

Strut for a Mutt 2008

Thursday, Sept 18th at 7:30 PM was the second annual Strut for a Mutt, sponsored by Lola Boutique, Lux Beauty, and yours truly! I personally witnessed three applications being filled out for adoptions from the Fayetteville Animal Shelter last night. The 50 VIP tables were sold out in 2 hours when the tickets went on sale. The line outside of the Dickson Street Theatre was wrapped around outside the patio well into the beginning of the event, as it was practically standing room only.

I hope I can post some real numbers on how sucessful the event was last night, but it seemed to be too big for the theatre venue. Jade and her mom even spoke about possibly needing a bigger venue next year. Congrats to her and her team for what seemed like a very well planned night, that seemed to go without a hitch.






The events pre-party began at 6:30, at which point all of the models dissappeared into the loft area to prepare for the event

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Shortly after 7:30 the models began their trek down the catwalk, and the event has kicked off. I actually couldn't get close enough to get any good pictures of the fashion show. Maybe next year we can pony up and get a VIP table. That looked fun.

Fayetteville Animal Shelters Grand Reopening

The Fayetteville Animal Shelter hosted it's Grand Re-opening Party Saturday, from 11 AM to 3 PM at it's facilities on Armstrong Rd. Dog Party USA, Angel Pet Sitters, The Humane Society of the Ozarks, as well as Bigwag were there in support of their efforts. It started to rain about 2 PM, so we bugged out a little early, but the event was winding down anyway. There was also a demonstration by Dogs Deserve Better, a group dedicated to raising awareness about dogs who spend their whole lives chained to a dog house (See the second photo above). The HSO also presented Jill Hatfield, the shelter director, with a check for $20,000, to help defray the deficit of funds that were cut from the city budget this year. Funds from the HSO 2008 planner were used to help make up the difference.

Renovations included a new air filtration system, UV lighting to help reduce microbial and bacterial infections, as well as new paint, to help the shelter feel more homier, according to Mrs. Hatfield.

Springdale Woofy Walk by Girl Scout Troop 192

Here are some pictures of the 1st annual Woofy Walk, put on by Girl Scout Troop 192. J. B Hunt park was so pretty Saturday, we think this would be an ideal location for future dog walks - maybe even see it grow to rival the Dogwood walk given some time. We enjoyed helping raise some supplies for the Springdale Animal Shelter, and the beagle mix puppies were so cute. I hope they find some forever homes soon.