Conway, Arkansas – Staff members at Conway Animal Welfare are back at the drawing board, coming up with fresh, original ideas to place animals in permanent homes.
Overcrowding has been a problem for shelters around the United States in the past year. Many report that it is challenging for them to keep up with the quantity of animals entering and leaving.
“Whenever you’re disconnected from a facet of life, you kind of assume that it doesn’t happen that much,” David Mitchell said.
In 2011, Mitchell began his employment at the Conway Animal Welfare Unit. He claims he wasn’t going to ignore the promotion that brought him to the position of Director.
“As a new director, you’re already trying to see if there’s new ways of doing things, maybe some stones that are left unturned,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell expressed his desire to assist more animals find homes and streamline the adoption process.
Mitchell asked Northwest Arkansas’s Best Friends Animal Society for assistance in serving as a mentor for the shelter.
“By reaching out to new groups, we’re able to bring on new concepts and new resources that we didn’t have before,” Mitchell stated.
According to Mitchell, the shelter’s social media following has seen the most shift. He claims to be teaching his employees and himself how to properly sell their animals outside of the front door.
“Being able to tell a story that maybe gets somebody very interested in that animal so we can find the right home,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell claims that the Conway Animal Welfare Unit needs to change with the times.
In his capacity as Director, he has also enlisted the support of University of Central Arkansas animal organizations. He says he hopes to come up with ideas for adoption and volunteer work together.
“Whenever you get really close to some of these animals, and you see the personalities come out, the last thing you want to do is see the animal not make it home,” Mitchell stated.
The Conway Animal Welfare Unit is open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday.