All Paws Count, an animal rescue organization in Spanish Fork, is taking care of local animals — and asking the community to help.
The animal rescue is dedicated to providing a forever home to every cat and dog in the community. Employees and volunteers at All Paws Count said the work they do is important and sets them apart from normal animal shelters.
“We're not, like, selling stuff. We're making sure that cats and dogs get good homes,” Briel Gordon, an All Paws Count employee, said.
Many city and county governments fund animal shelters and have a primary goal of keeping strays off the streets. Shelters will take in these animals and put them on a “stray hold,” which lasts for about five business days.
After that, animal rescues — such as All Paws Count — can step in, take the strays and begin the adoption process.
Because shelters fill up quickly, organizations such as All Paws Count save animals' lives, Heather Hone, the organization's owner, said.
“If people don't adopt from the shelters or rescues don't pull from the shelters, they have to kill for space,” Hone said.
Rescues such as All Paws Count take in animals from a shelter or members of the community. They ensure the animals get the medical care they need, spay or neuter them and then put them up for adoption.
This helps keep more strays off the streets, Hone said.
“I wish we were out of business. I wish we didn't have to exist,” she said.
Because they can only hold a limited number of animals at a time, nonprofits such as All Paws Count are always eager for people to adopt these pets, Hone said.