What’s not stated in the story that mentions the Panola County Humane Society’s transport program is that there is an area of the country where unwanted dogs are so uncommon that people there pay money to have Panola County’s mutts shipped to them for adoption.
The desire by people in those places — Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and such — to adopt unwanted dogs from Panola County is what gives PCHS an outlet for the overwhelming numbers they are dealing with.

That means that in those places, people have already bought in to the idea of spaying and neutering. They get it. They understand the responsibility that comes with pet ownership, that you can’t go one letting dogs and cats bearing litter after unwanted litter.

And that’s the only real solution for Panola County. Animal owners must assume responsibility to spay and neuter their pets. Taking a litter of puppies (or kittens) to some abandoned area and dumping them on a roadside is just not acceptable. Either they will get run over, or starve or get weak and die from disease or live long enough to get into a pack and become a problem bigger than just one dog. The possibilities are many and none of them good. If they survive they are likely to produce many more unwanted puppies or kittens. It’s a cycle that has swamped Panola County with them already.

The PCHS transport program is an alternative born of desperation. It’s great, but it requires money to fund the neutering and treatment of dogs to ready them for adoption. It requires devoted volunteers who are willing to care for the dogs until they are ready for shipment. And on and on.

A better solution is for us to feel the same revulsion at the throwing away of unwanted animals as those folks in the northeastern states. We all take a little pride in our state and our part of the country, but this is something to be ashamed about.

If it’s a matter of money, PCHS can help. They’ve found funding through grants that allow low cost neutering for dogs. Come by The Panolian office and pick up an application for spay or neuter that will cost only $20.

But it’s really a matter of mind, and attitudes in this county toward unwanted pups and kitten need changing.