Here's our beginnings: 

It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since CARES officially became Clarksdale's city shelter. The conditions were at an all time low and we saw an opportunity for some serious change. Originally we began with big plans for a new building, but along the way, our time was spent taking care of the daily needs of the shelter animals, meeting with city officials and laying the groundwork for a sustainable shelter in the future. Below is our original accomplishments list from day 1, which we compiled in 2015. We are as proud of this list today as we are of our current accomplishments. We had nowhere to go but up, and a lot of lives to save. 

• Our biggest accomplishment last year was dramatically reducing the number of unnecessary euthanizations.
• From there we worked with transports to get over 100 dogs out of Clarksdale to forever homes in other parts the country.
•  We reached out to local veterinarians, and they joined in our effort by providing  vaccinations and overdue spay and neutering. 
• Foster families were put into place so that the dogs waiting for a transport wouldn't remain at the shelter. 
• We also introduced two new events to increase awareness of our great shelter pets: Paws and Pumpkins and Santa Paws.
• We introduced a new website and an updated Facebook page to further engage with our supporters and volunteers. 
• A new logo was designed with the motto "A Tail of Togetherness," which fits perfectly for Clarksdale by bringing all citizens together for a common good. The gold of the sun in the logo reminds us that a new day and change is on the way. 
• CARES set up 2nd Saturday adoption sites with Oxford Hollywood Feed so that our animals could be exposed to the public more frequently.
• We upgraded the shelter by upgrading basic necessities that had been lacking in city support, like large rubber mats, tarps, and dog houses. The mats were used to keep animals from the ever-present mud and cold concrete that they were forced to lay on from being outside. 
•  We received generous funding from supporters, which allowed us to pay for vaccinations, sick animals ,and  spay/neuter.
• Our volunteers put in thousands of hours helping out at the shelter. 
• We received our first grant from the Guardian Angel fund for spay and neuter. This is the first time in the history of the Clarksdale shelter that animals adopted have already been spayed and neutered in an effort to decrease the stray animal population.
• This year we have already begun training with the present staff to freshen up the shelter experience for both the animals and their human visitors.
• Several of the CARES board members attended the national shelter expo at their own expense.
• New brochures and handouts have been professionally prepared so that the community can easily grasp the CARES mission and other important resources.
• We have new computer software programs to help track adoptions, organize animals, and link our available animals to web searches.  Also, a new accounting system is in place so that your donations go to the specified need of your choosing.
• We have partnered with the Mississippi State Veterinary School in efforts to update the current building and to help us in our goal of keeping pets healthy for adoptions.
• Shelter plans for a new building were developed and on the horizon for the future. While 2014 was a most successful year, we believe 2015 is going to be the best yet! 
• And last but not least.. we have officially contracted with the city to run the shelter ourselves. As of April 15, 2015, CARES is officially responsible for the Clarksdale shelter.