Walking through this weekend’s offerings at the Foothills Festival booths around the courthouse square will provide a wide array of goods and services on Friday and Saturday.

Plenty of food, wooden crafts, paintings, hand-sewn garments and quilts, candles and puppies.

Yes – puppies.

Little Hills of Kentucky Animal Rescue, Inc. tells just about everything about its goals in the last two words of its title, “animal rescue.” The relatively newly formed organization became 501 3(c) incorporated (non-profit organization) a year ago this month, in October 2010 and now has a total membership of around 20 people from Clinton and other area counties whose primary mission is to save animals.

The organization’s officers are Enid Wallace, President; Jeff Cole, Vice-President; Ramona Moles, Secretary and Arica Collins, Treasurer.

Wallace and Cole discussed their organization, its goals and how it operates during an interview this past weekend.

Wallace explained that a couple of years ago, a young neighbor was trying to give away puppies from the trunk of a car, and she (Wallace) picked up on the mission and began the group in an attempt to save animals from having to be put to sleep.

“We have about 20 members now and hope to get a lot more,” she said. Part of the goal of the group is to save animals from the local shelter who cannot find homes and would otherwise be put down. “We’ve saved about 70 dogs in just the past few weeks,” Wallace said.

Once the animals are removed from the local shelter, they are taken to a “no-kill” animal shelter facility in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Local volunteers transport the animals to Florence, Kentucky where they meet with people from the Ohio facility, who take them on to the no-kill shelter there.

Wallace said the organization, which has to get all its primary funding right now through donations and fundraisers, is attempting to get enough money to construct a holding facility for animals prior to being transferred to the no-kill shelter.

The cost of taking care of animals isn’t inexpensive. Wallace explained that before animals are accepted at the Ohio facility, they are required to have vaccinations and have to be healthy animals. There is a week to 10-day waiting period before transports, she noted.

There are more animals in Clinton and other counties that use the Tri-County Animal Shelter that need saving than many may think. “The (animal) shelter is full as we speak,” Wallace said during an interview Saturday morning, October 1.

The local shelter, a three-county venture, also houses animals from Cumberland and Wayne counties and according to Wallace, about 80 percent of all the animals housed here are from Wayne County. She added that of the current 20 members or so the group has, most are from Clinton but some are from Wayne, Pulaski and Cumberland.

Cole noted that other than transporting animals from the local shelter to the no-kill shelter, the organization also provides community education and works in the schools to educate youth about the importance of taking care of their pets.

“The bottom line is…to get the problem of so many strays and animals housed in the shelter under control, people need to have their animals spayed and neutered and have their immunizations,” Wallace added.

Little Hills Animal Rescue saved an estimated 350 animals–primarily dogs–last year and its goal for 2012 is to save around 1,200 of them, or around 100 per month.

The cost of taking care of the housed animals is high, counting the costs of vaccinations, food and shelter and transport cost. As stated, all funds are from donations and fundraisers and several volunteers have paid money out-of-pocket in the effort.

Wallace and Cole noted that no grant money of any kind to help take care of the animals had become available but hopes they can find someone who would be willing to help write grant applications, or people who would know where to apply for extra funds.

The volunteers have worked hard over the past several months to raise funds, including participating in the Foothills Festival, and most recently, the Rollercoaster Yard Sale that was held this past weekend where several hundred dollars was raised.

Another fundraiser coming up is a magic and theatrical show that will be held at the Clinton County Learning Center on Saturday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. There are 400 tickets available for that event and the organization hopes they can sell all the tickets.

The organization will also be taking part in the upcoming Foothills Festival, selling t-shirts and offering scratch-off donation cards, where people who purchase a card will get 10 coupons for items donated by local businesses and restaurants.

In further discussing the costs and how the group operates, animals are transported two or three times a week from Clinton County to Florence and then on to Ohio at the no-kill shelter which adds to the deficit.

Stray animals that are not claimed can be taken to the local animal shelter Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the adoption fees have been waived.

“Our main goal is to rescue animals from the shelter…if we don’t they don’t stand a chance,” Wallace said.

The Little Hills Animal Rescue organization meets at least once monthly and volunteers are needed and welcomed. For more information on the organization or how you can support saving animals, call Wallace at 606-688-0287; Cole at 306-2401 or Conner at 387-6444.