Though there has been some question to whether there is a stray animal problem in the University District, there are, no doubt, people in and around the area who are interested in getting strays off the streets. Hollywood Feed and the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County hosted an Adoptathon in April, an event in which people around the city adopt pets at cheap prices or just come to volunteer their time. Samantha Irwin, territory manager of Hollywood Feed’s Broad Avenue location, said that the partnership with the Humane Society has helped achieve the goal of getting stray animals out of the streets and into good homes. |
Irwin said that she has seen a desire in people around the city to want to get involved with not only events like the Adoptathon, but with addressing the stray problem in general.
“It requires people to become more involved in their neighborhoods and with their fellow man,” she said. “Animal lovers want to help. They need to help.”
Wesley Newsom, an Adoptathon volunteer who plans to move to the University District in the fall, said that, by moving to the area, he hopes to have some luck in “assessing the seriousness of a ‘stray issue’ in the area.”
Newsom emphasized the need for young people to go out and get involved with animal shelters in order to fix the stray animal problems that do exist.
“Young people need some place to begin to have some sense of responsibility and what better place than an animal shelter?” he said. “Animals need love and attention, much like a child. The best part about this, and not everyone would agree, is that it can translate later into making better life decisions as well.”