Fort Smith Animal Shelter threatens closure if funding, staff not found

The Fort Smith Animal Shelter could close on November 1 if the Town of Fort Smith does not fund a manager position at the shelter.

“We are facing a crossroads where we just can’t provide this any more and I’d hate to have the shelter shut down,” said Alana McGrath, a volunteer at the Fort Smith Animal Shelter, in a video posted to Facebook last month.

At the time, she said the shelter was hiring a manager to provide consistency, availability and capacity.

In an August 7 Facebook video, McGrath said a manager had not been hired. She called on the Fort Smith Town Council to fund a position for two to three years.

McGrath said she had approached the town in the winter of 2025 to ask for funding, but “the general feeling was it wasn’t in their budget and they didn’t feel that the town would want the money going towards an employee at the shelter.”

“It’s the town’s money and we all pay taxes, so it would be up to the townspeople to decide that the animal shelter would be something that we believe in and want to support,” she said in July.

In the second video, McGrath said she is leaving town in November and the animal shelter will close if a paid position is not funded and filled. (She could not be reached for this article.)

Fort Smith Mayor Dana Fergusson and senior administrative officer David Henderson said the Fort Smith Animal Shelter will make a presentation to council on September 1. They said they would speak with Cabin Radio after that meeting takes place.

McGrath said 23 dogs on average have been adopted yearly for the past three years. This month, she said 11 dogs had been adopted this year so far, six were at the shelter and three were being fostered.

“They just keep coming in the door,” McGrath said.

The shelter is run by the Fort Smith Animal Society, and McGrath said even if the shelter closes, the society will continue operating to raise funds for spay and neuter clinics.

Without an animal shelter in the community, McGrath said “it will turn into a kill situation, dogs will be put down because we won’t be there trying to find them homes.”

In both Facebook videos, McGrath also asked residents to stop breeding dogs, which is contributing to demand on the shelter.

“This town is amazing, we’ve got amazing people here. I think we can do it. I think we can get these numbers down and keep the dogs off the streets,” said McGrath.