If you’ve got a little land and some room in the barn, Columbia’s animal shelter could use your help this week.
The Central Missouri Humane Society is trying to find homes for 70 animals — 24 sheep, goats, and lambs, plus 45 chickens and two turkeys — that landed in its care through a Columbia/Boone County Animal Control impoundment case, according to the Columbia Missourian. That’s a lot of animals to place at once, even for a shelter used to dogs and cats.
“We are grateful that we were able to assist Columbia/Boone County Animal Control throughout this case,” Executive Director Julie Aber told the Missourian, adding the shelter is “excited to welcome potential adopters to meet them and help us find the right homes.”
This isn’t a walk-in-and-leave-with-a-lamb situation. Because of how much interest farm animals draw, the shelter started requiring adopters to apply in person as of August 31 rather than just calling ahead. Anyone thinking about it should be ready to show they can handle the basics of livestock ownership before they’re approved: immediate food, transportation, and vet care, plus the fencing, housing, and space to keep the animal long-term. A backyard isn’t enough — this is a real commitment, closer to taking on a 4-H project than adopting a barn cat.
For anyone in the Rocheport/New Franklin area who’s been thinking about adding a few laying hens or a couple of goats to the property, Columbia is a manageable drive — the shelter is at 505 Big Bear Blvd. More details and adoption info are at cmhspets.com.
The Humane Society hasn’t said what happens to animals that don’t get placed, and there’s no public deadline yet for the intake, so anyone interested shouldn’t assume there’s unlimited time to decide. If you can’t take on a full-grown animal but still want to help, the shelter’s ongoing wish list and volunteer sign-ups (the same shelter that had 37 people show up for a dog deep-clean day a few days earlier) are usually the easiest way to pitch in without a barn of your own.
Leave a Reply