Local animal group raises funds for Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

“This is my Mother’s Day gift to myself,” said Christy Barnes as she cuddled with Sir Arthur of Meowalot, an adorable baby kitten that she adopted on Saturday. Barnes said that she’s been looking to adopt a special boy or girl for about a month now, and after hearing his name, Barnes knew that Sir Arthur was a perfect fit for her.
Sir Arthur was one of more than 20 cats, kittens, and dogs that were available for adoption at Save a Pet - Copperas Cove TX Area’s microchip and pet adoption event which was held just outside the Soup Kitchen’s new location on North Main Street. The event also served as a fundraiser for the Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen which is still looking for volunteers and funds to help get the soup kitchen back up and running properly.
“I saw posts about the soup kitchen needing help with renovations before they can get this place up and ready,” said Sherry Claytor who came up with the idea for the event. “I want to help them. I want to help the animals. I thought, ‘Why not help both?’”
Claytor got in touch with the Save a Pet group and Wildlife Rehab Lorena and helped them with making the event a reality. Victoria Watkins with Save a Pet installed microchips for $15 with a portion of that going to the soup kitchen. They also collected funds and donations during the event. Pets were also available for adoption. However, Clayton said that she felt like the most important aspect of the event was microchipping. 
“I find so many animals in this area, and it’s really hard to track their owners because they’re not microchipped,” said Claytor. “My goal is to get as many pets microchipped as we can.”
Claytor said that whenever they, or an animal shelter, finds a pet, the first thing that they do is check out the chip. If an animal does not have a microchip, she said that finding the correct owner can be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. She also stressed the importance of updating the chip from time to time. They once found a cat with a microchip that they were able to trace to Japan, but it hadn’t been updated in so long that they were still unable to find the owner.
Jennifer Harris had her cat, Onyx, microchipped at Saturday’s event. She said that she has tried putting various collars on Onyx but that, more than once, the cat has managed to wriggle free from the collar before wandering off for a few days. Harris said that she was really worried that, because Onyx is so pretty, that somebody might decide to keep her rather than searching for the owner, so she wanted to make sure that Onyx had a chip.
Harris said that she liked the fact that a portion of the microchip fee was donated to the Soup Kitchen. “It’s one of the things that made me go, not only is it good for me, it’s good for the community,” said Harris.
Dozens of people walked around checking out the adorable cats and dog available for adoption.
“The shelters are full. It’s terrible this year. People just dump pets, it’s terrible,” said Christina Lampe. “They deserve to be adopted. They’re not things, they’re living beings…My pets are my family members.”
Jax, a mix of Pyrenees, hound, and shepherd, was the only dog up for adoption at the event. Rebecca Lampe (15) and her mother Christina Lampe have been fostering Jax since Thanksgiving and hope to be able to find him a forever home. They described him as energetic and very intelligent. Jax has been neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Sadly, Jax was unable to find a home at Saturday’s event and is still looking for a loving family to adopt him.
Victoria Watkins, with Save a Pet, microchipped the pets for Saturday’s event. She said that for those who were unable to attend the event and are interested in having a pet microchipped or who are interested in adopting a pet can call her at (512) 718-4764 to find out more information or to schedule an appointment. Watkins said that she’s even willing to drive to a person’s house if needed.
“Microchipping animals is not only required by law, it’s good for your animals,” said Watkins.