Iberia Parish has many organizations looking out for the poor and needy people in the area, but only one taking care of our furry friends who may need help. 

The nonprofit organization has been around for decades, and shelter manager Rocky Gates said it has been able to keep going mainly through the strong support for Angel Paws in the parish. 

Angel Paws is one of eight agencies in Iberia Parish featured in this year’s Help the Helpers, a campaign spearheaded by The Daily Iberian to encourage giving to local groups that help the needy all year round.

Angel Paws mainly functions as a place that takes in stray and unwanted animals, dogs and cats specifically. The organization vets those animals for whatever they need, pay to fix things like heartworms and eventually find a home for them. 

But since the facility is small, Gates said space is always an issue. 

“Unfortunately we only have 14 kennels,” Gates said. “Every kennel has multiple dogs so we’re very limited with who we can take. We’ll put two or three dogs in a kennel but once you get beyond that you start getting in doggy fights. It’s just not good living conditions for them.”

The winter months also get a little tougher. Although the kennels have heated floors, the outside cold seeps in for the smaller dogs which forces staff to bring them to an indoor area. 

As far as fundraising, Gates said the annual Paw-T is Angel Paws’ biggest money-getter, but a raffle also occurs in the spring as well as a secret Santa in the winter. 

 The adoption rate for the program has been steady, although Gates said that locals are looking to adopt puppies for the Christmas season, which the shelter is out of. 

“Of course everyone has puppies and we don’t have any available right now,” she said. “Everybody’s looking for Christmas puppies and we don’t have any available.”

In terms of donations, Angel Paws is always in need of monetary donations, but pet food and litter are also needed. The biggest expense by far is veterinary bills, which eats up about $6,000 every month. 

“We have very good donors,” Gates said. “When I go online and say we need this, usually our supporters show up in a big way.”

Cash or check donations for Help the Helpers can be brought to The Daily Iberian office at the corner of Main and Lewis streets or mailed to Help the Helpers at The Daily Iberian, P.O. Box 9290, New Iberia, LA 70562. Checks should be made to Help the Helpers.

Contributions can be marked for a specific participating Help the Helpers organization or can be divided among all nine. Donors’ names will be published by the newspaper in an Honor Roll listing.