AR-News: (OH - US)Group "Stop the Suffering"rescues dogs at Licking County Animal Shelter

[Snugglezzz at aol.com]

Group rescues dogs
By LACHELLE SEYMOUR
Advocate Reporter   
<IMG  SRC="http://www.newarkadvocate.com/news/stories/20040223/localnews/7960-3630.jpg" WIDTH="248" HEIGHT="177" BORDER="0" DATASIZE="8312">
Sheila Krishnan Kathryn Deering, 44, of Newark checks a mixed breed dog for a 
fracture at the Licking County Animal Shelter. Deering is part of a rescue 
group called Stop the Suffering that finds homes for the animals before they are 
put to sleep. 


Fast factsIn 2003: 
2,131 dogs were impounded 

440 dogs were redeemed 

462 dogs were adopted 

638 dogs went to rescue groups 

579 dogs were euthanized 

215 cats were adopted 

1,139 cats were euthanized In 2004: 

42 dogs were euthanized 
    

NEWARK -- Between white cinder block walls, Anita Smith carried her skinny 
digital camera from pen to pen. At A-19, two sweet, furry faces peered up at her 
from behind the metal cage door. Hounds. They're tools for hunting, said Cold 
Spring Animal Clinic Veterinarian Kathy Deering, who walked behind Smith 
around one of two dog kennels at the Licking County Animal Shelter. If they don't 
reach their owners' standards, the dogs are often dropped off at the pound. 
It's the last place many of the dogs and cats will ever see. If they're not 
adopted and not enjoying life anymore, they're euthanized, Deputy Warden Barb 
Sauer said. The county can't support all of them. Instead of just wishing for a 
better life for the area's homeless dogs and cats, Smith founded Stop the 
Suffering, a nonprofit ferrying business that transports local animals to owners 
around the state -- or Eastern Seaboard -- that want them. Now area volunteers 
are signing up to transport animals, mostly dogs, to their new homes, or to 
house the animals before their departure date arrives. The group also needs 
donations to keep their group, and the animals, alive. First, Smith takes pictures 
of the animals in Licking County, and posts them on the Internet. That's how 
potential owners see and request them, she said. Shelley McKee, of Pataskala, 
loads dogs (and a few cats) into individual pet crates in the bed of her own 
green pickup truck once a week. Often, she drives them to Toledo. Gas money is 
her contribution to the group, she said. Dogs and cats are transported by area 
drivers to new homes as far away as Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland. 
"Anywhere we can get them out to a rescue group," Smith said. "All rescue groups are 
checked out and pre-approved." On Dog Leg Road, the new white Licking County 
shelter building may look like a safe place to drop off a pet, but really it 
often ends in death for the dog or cat, Smith said. The shelter isn't the 
Humane Society, which is in a blue-green shelter next to the pound. At the shelter, 
stray dogs "are held 3-5 days, or 14 if they want to. But if the owner brings 
a pet in, they may be euthanized on the same day," Deering said. There are so 
many unwanted animals in Licking County, the current dog and cat populations 
would be able to supply the demand for pets for the next 10 years, Deering 
said. Meanwhile, even though Smith and her team constantly move animals out, 
saving the area's stray or unwanted pets feels more like running in place than a 
hero story. After saying "hello" to the hounds, Smith and Deering stopped at 
each cage, checking on each dog. Finally, they stopped at one near the entrance 
of the kennel. Inside, a young Lab mix laid on the concrete floor near the 
door of his cage. Deering gave him a short medical exam. The dog most likely had 
a broken leg, she said. "Any time there is a hurt dog, Kathy looks after it," 
Smith said. The young dog was male, and not neutered, Deering said. The 
population problem can't be solved when owners fail to spay or neuter their pets and 
let them wander around neighborhoods, she said. "The general public doesn't 
want to come in because they don't want to see all the little faces doomed to 
die," Deering said. "But with Anita, about 1/3 of them will make it out of 
here." To volunteer for Stop the Suffering, contact Anita Smith at (740) 507-0996. 
Reporter Lachelle Seymour can be reached at 328-8546 or <A HREF="mailto:lseymour at nncogannett.com">
lseymour at nncogannett.com</A> To help Donations are needed for Gracie's Fund, a nonprofit fund for 
reducing the cost of spaying and neutering pets for low-income households in 
Licking County. Cherry Valley Animal Clinic collects and recycles aluminum cans, 
sells bandannas, paw prints and fleece pads to raise money for the fund. Bowlers 
are needed to raise money at a fund-raiser slated for 6 p.m. March 10 at Park 
Lanes, Heath. For more information, call the Cherry Valley Animal Clinic at 
522-6056, or visit at 100 Westgate Drive. Tax deductible donations can be made 
payable to Gracie's Fund, and can be sent to the Cherry Valley Animal Clinic. 
Originally published Monday, February 23, 2004


<A HREF="http://www.newarkadvocate.com/index.html">H</A> 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/attachments/20040224/31781426/attachment.html