In mid-June, North Platte Animal Shelter was flooded with cats and kittens and faced with the dilemma of reducing numbers.  As an incentive to adopt from the shelter, Paws-itive Partners offered gift certificates for any cat or kitten adopted before July 1.  As a result, in just 10 days, gift certificates were provided with 31 cats and kittens being adopted into new homes.  New adoptive families are expected to use Paws-itive Partners’ spay and neuter gift certificates as soon as possible and at any veterinary clinic in the Lincoln County area.

Paws-itive Partners reminds pet owners, cats and dogs alike, to spay and neuter.   In the United States, millions of healthy cats and dogs are euthanized every year because there aren’t enough people who adopt.  Sterilization is the most humane and effective way to prevent pet over population and reduce euthanasia.

Paws-itive Partners member Susan Kubart reported that April 2013’s Love My Cat campaign was a howling success.  “We were able to help spay and neuter 354 cats!  We had such a great response from pet owners that clinics needed to extend April’s Love My Cat campaign into May to complete the surgeries,” Kubart said.  “We appreciate the clinics that are so supportive of our efforts and the media who helps us spread the word.  We can’t say enough good things about the clinics and media.  We wouldn’t be able to help so many people and pets without them,” Kubart said.  She hopes that with Paws-itive Partners, veterinary clinics and the media working together, someday euthanizing homeless pets in our area can become a thing of the past.

The public is reminded that Paws-itive Partners’ mission is to make spaying and neutering of cats and dogs available to every pet owner.  Low- to moderate-income pet owners can go on line to Paws-itive Partners’ website for an application for financial assistance.  For questions, call Jo Mayber at 308-532-8814.

(AP) — The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe is scheduled to visit Lincoln next week to discuss alcohol sales in the Nebraska town of Whiteclay, on the border of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Tribal President Bryan Brewer will give a speech Sunday at Vine Congregational United Church of Christ in Lincoln. The 7 p.m. event is free and open to the public.

Organizers say Brewer is also planning to meet with Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman to talk about alcohol sales in Whiteclay. Activists say the town’s beer stores contribute to social problems on the officially dry reservation.

Last year, Brewer spoke at Chadron State College in northwest Nebraska about his plans to attract small businesses to the reservation while preserving the tribe’s Lakota language.

• Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. South southeast wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South southeast wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. South southeast wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South southeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light southeast after midnight.