Frequently Asked Questions
Where are you located?
ARK has no facilities of its own. We are a group of volunteers dedicated to improving the welfare of companion animals in Hart County. We worked very hard with the Hart County Fiscal Court and Judge Executive to realize our shared vision - a shelter in Hart County. As a result, the new Hart County Animal Shelter opened in March, 2022. The shelter is managed by the county, with support from ARK. Be sure to check out the Hart County Animal Shelter Facebook page. Their number is 270-524-1692.
Where is the animal shelter?
The Hart County Animal Shelter is located at the southern corner of the Fairgrounds right along 31W. Their sign is clearly visible from the highway and they post their open hours at their door.
Who do I call to pick up a stray dog?
The Hart County Judge Executive is responsible for the Hart County Animal Control Program. If you need a dog picked up during workdays from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, call the Judge Executive’s office at 270-524-5219 or the Hart County Animal Shelter at 270-524-1692. After hours, you can leave a message. If it is an emergency, call the State Police Dispatch at 270-842-8572.
What should I do if I find a stray animal?
First, ask around your neighborhood to see if anyone is missing the pet. If it is a dog, you can call animal control to pick it up. If you prefer to keep the dog out of the shelter, you can send a photo, a description, your location, and your contact info to our Facebook page and we’ll post it as a lost dog. For cats or litters of kittens, contact us and we will work with you to find a solution. If our foster program is full, we can try to find another foster situation or homes for the cats. Send photos and info to our Facebook page.
Help! My pet is missing! What should I do?
Ask neighbors if they have seen your pet, post signs, and if you use Facebook, make a post. Contact ARK and we will post it for you on our Facebook page, for a wider audience. Send photos of your pet, where it was last seen, any helpful descriptions, the name of the pet, and your contact info to our email: ark4hart@gmail.com or our Facebook page: ARK for Hart.
When is your next Spay-Neuter-Voucher event?
We currently have 4 voucher (SNR) events each year, selling as many as 100 vouchers at each one. These vouchers can be used at Riverside Animal Clinic. BRAWA in Glasgow, Leitchfield Vet Clinic, or County Critters in Elizabethtown. It’s making a big impact - reducing many unwanted litters. Check our Facebook page or website “Events” page for the current voucher event dates. The vouchers are for Hart County residents only.
BRAWA vouchers for cats are available any time at the Hart County Animal Shelter or in our website shop. These vouchers must be redeemed at BRAWA. Vouchers for the Leitchfield Veterinary Clinic are also available in our website shop.
What services do you offer?
From the first day, we have lent our assistance to our fellow animal owners in Hart County to help them solve their problems: publicizing and re-uniting lost animals and owners, networking to help retrieve lost animals that are in trouble, and helping find new owners for unwanted animals through social media.
Our low-cost Spay-Neuter-Rabies vouchers have helped to spay-neuter many animals throughout the county. We partner with 4 area vet clinics to get as many pets fixed as possible. We have 4 spay-neuter voucher events each year, and must continually raise money for this program. Our goal is to reduce the number of unwanted pets, reducing overcrowding at the shelter and preventing neglect, abandonment, and abuse.
We operate a cat foster program for surrendered animals, providing temporary homes until forever homes can be found. We can’t take them all, due to limits on the number of available foster homes, unfortunately. We will work with cat owners to find solutions. Click here for more information.
Our Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program has helped hundreds of stray cats and their human neighbors - by fixing the cats, improving their health, and reducing unwanted mating behaviors - not to mention reducing the number of unwanted litters. go to the home page and fill out the request for help - look for an orange button: “Cat Colony Location.”
Our Barn Cat Program works with TNR to fix and relocate strays. Sometimes, they can’t be returned to their original homes, so this is a great solution. Go to the home page and fill out the application - look for an orange button: “I Need Barn Cats.”
Does Animal Control pick up cats and kittens?
No, the Hart County Animal Control Officer and the shelter only handle dogs. There is no formal pickup program for cats in Hart County. As far as governmental agencies go nearby, your Hart County cats may be surrendered to BRAWA (in Barren County) for a fee but only if they have space. Call first to see if they have room: 270-651-7297. You can also try the Bowling Green/Warren County shelter at 270-842-8572.
What about cats and kittens? If not the county, then who?
ARK has neither the authority nor the equipment to pick up stray animals. ARK works hard through our TNR program to humanely deal with the area’s stray, community, and feral cats. ARK handles surrendered cats and kittens through our feline foster program. Unfortunately, being an all-volunteer organization with limited resources, we can only meet a small fraction of the need in this area. At any given time, our foster coordinator probably has more than 20 kittens and cats in our program. It is always difficult to find homes for them all, but our foster team works hard to make that happen.
Can I adopt an animal from you? Yes, ARK usually has a varied assortment of wonderful cats and kittens in foster care awaiting their furrever homes. ARK posts them on PetFinder, linked under our Adopt tab. You can adopt dogs from the Hart County Animal Shelter.
What is ARK?
ARK is an all-volunteer, federally tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in November, 2015 in the state of Kentucky. We currently have over 200+ members, all combining our efforts to help improve animal welfare in Hart County. All donations to ARK are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
For more information, please contact us.