Saturday, May 4, 2024
A local mother-daughter duo recently opened an adoption and rescue center for cats and dogs on Aug. 13 called Charlie’s Wags N Whiskers.
It encompasses an adoption and animal rescue center, a doggy daycare, offers boarding, a dog park, and a boutique for the animals named the Paw Bar Boutique.
Gatesville High School student Charlie Sommerfeld and her mother, Candice Vazquez, are natives of the community and felt the urge to make a difference.
Since Sommerfeld can remember, animals and strays have always had a special place in her heart.
“Growing up my grandma always fed the cats at her park in Copperas Cove, and I’ve loved that she’s done that by helping stray animals in general, you always see them walking around,” Sommerfeld said.
Sommerfeld and Vazquez wanted to make sure when establishing their organization, that it would be different than what anybody else has. “This will serve the community but also help the animals too,” Sommerfeld said. They wanted to do something positive for the community while also decreasing the number of stray animals on the streets.
“Animal shelters help everyone, even if you don’t have an animal,” Sommerfeld said. “It helps with the reproduction of animals as well as giving them a safe home. Now if somebody sees an animal on the side of the road, they don’t have to just call Animal Control, they can call us too.”
Since the adoption and rescue center opened, Charlie’s Wags N Whiskers has rescued a total of 30 cats and kittens and has successfully adopted nine of them.
The organization’s services will expand out of Coryell County to rescue animals in need. To date, the organization has rescued animals from prisons, recreational vehicle parks, local stores, and the city of Copperas Cove.
“First thing that we’ve been doing is the same day we rescue, we take the animals to Bar-N Vet Clinic to get them wormed, check for chips, give flea medication, and a flea bath,” Sommerfeld said. Charlie’s Wags N Whiskers works alongside the Gatesville Animal Shelter and Bar-N Vet Clinic.
The cats that have been taken from the animal shelter are ready to adopt and are vaccinated. If possible, they’ve already gone through the trap neuter and release program. “In the future, hopefully we can get the dogs neutered, even if we have to get a sponsor,” Vazquez said.
Charlie’s Wags N Whiskers is a 501 C non-profit organization, which means it is nontax deductible and runs entirely on donations alone. There are future plans for fundraisers, including a wiener dog race and a color pup run.
To adopt an animal, the fees will vary depending on if the animals have had their vaccinations or deworming. “Without vaccinations or being spayed or neutered, the cost for adoption will be $25, and if the animals are up to date on shots the cost will be $40,” Sommerfeld said.
Since the organization is always in need of donations, they will accept any type of necessities that come with owning an animal such as dog and cat food, canned food, litter, puppy pads, cleaning supplies, and most importantly volunteer work.
Student volunteers from Gatesville Independent School District have already made their way to Charlie’s Wags N Whiskers. The National Honor Society volunteered to fill their community service hours. “We have even talked to the high school with their special needs kids, and they want to come participate in some high functioning adult duties,” Vazquez said.
The mother-daughter duo’s goal was to bring something different to Gatesville that bigger areas don’t have, where you can stay for a while to visit with the animals. “With the animal shelter here, you are not able to walk in and say that you want to check out their dogs, you have to have an appointment,” Vazquez said.
“Even the shelter dogs that we are going to take in, we don’t want them pinned up all the time,” Vazquez said. “We want them to be able to interact.”
When Sommerfeld and Vazquez aren’t tending to the animals, there are many responsibilities to uphold including feeding, cleaning out the litter boxes and cages, as well as making sure all the animals get in their social hours.
Vazquez spends around 12 hours a day at the facility, and Sommerfeld arrives shortly after 2 p.m. when she gets out of school for the day. Both are at the building seven days a week until 8 p.m. or later.
“After graduation, I am going to come up here every single day, I am pretty much going to live here,” Sommerfeld said. “I am not going anywhere.”
As the duo is adapting, they will only be taking in rescues first, especially when they start taking in dogs. The organization will slowly incorporate doggy day care and boarding. “I know a lot of people have been asking about boarding, but we want to know what we are dealing with, and we don’t want to overload ourselves right off of the bat,” Vazquez said. “I know everybody’s excited just like we are.”
Charlie’s Wags N Whiskers will be reaching out to the community for people that are interested in fostering with the approved criteria.
“We have had some really awesome people come in and check us out,” Vazquez said. “It’s like therapy sometimes, we just sit and watch the animals play.”
“We are learning, we know how to take care of animals, but we want to be able to give them the best service,” Vazquez said.
