I am late in signing up for Saturday’s Races for Paws. A chronically complaining knee will keep me off the route, but I’ll get the tee shirt and support the Panola County Humane Society in their major fund-raising event.
What PCHS does is nothing short of amazing. Stymied years back in getting the City of Batesville and the Panola County Board of Supervisors to build an animal shelter, they linked themselves with puppy adoption programs where certain volunteer members take in unwanted puppies, foster them while the dogs are neutered, vaccinated and otherwise certified as healthy animals. Then they arrange transport them to waiting homes, mostly in northeastern states where animal population control efforts have so resonated with the citizenry that unwanted litters of puppies are rare.
PCHS has one success story after another, photos from people who have adopted a Panola County stray that becomes a grateful member of a loving family.
The fostering program is a stop-gap measure carried on by a few hardworking volunteers, but they’ve persevered at it for years. (They could always use more volunteer foster parents. PCHS bears the expenses.)
PCHS also cares for dogs in the Batesville city pound, offers dogs for adoption and administers grant money that provides low cost spaying or neutering for dogs and cats.
In the process they try to educate a stubborn Panola County population who, quite frankly, shirk  responsibility for the litters of unwanted puppies and kittens their household animals produce.
The very few PCHS members and other animal rescue volunteers address problems that they did not create and most of us think is the other guy’s job.
This weekend’s Springfest is stacked with entertainment, good food, fun and opportunities to visit with friends on the Public Square.
And the Races for Paws right in the middle of it on Saturday morning is our opportunity to let the PCHS volunteers know that we appreciate what they do.
Racing for Paws begins at 8 a.m. Saturday in Downtown Batesville. Register at racesonline.com