Press Coverage:

Be an angel to dogs in the dungeon
Gerry Davies
Roanoke Times
Sunday, March 07, 2004

How's this for an incongruous image:

A dungeon attended to by angels.

Bear with me here. In this column it works.

The dungeon in question is the Montgomery County Animal Shelter, an old, inadequate, cinder-block structure where about a thousand unfortunate dogs ended up last year. Temporary home to the county's stray, abandoned or abused canines, it sorely needs replacing, or at the very least, renovation.

As for the angels, well, there's a bunch.

Start with the three animal control officers - chief Harvey Waddell and deputies Joyce Taylor and Ray Helmick - who work out of the cramped shelter and round up and care for wandering cattle, straying goats and mistreated horses, in addition to all the dogs and assorted other duties. Vouching for the officers' heavenly natures are some other angels, the folks at VA PAWS (Virginia Partnership for Animal Welfare and Support), which tries to advance the cause of animals.

The officers do a lot with little in the way of resources.

They - and the animals, of course - badly need a new facility. And the Friends of the Montgomery County Animal Shelter, sponsored by VA PAWS, are about to try to get it for them as part of a broader effort to improve the plight of our pets and livestock. The Friends are also talking about an extensive outreach program to educate the public and provide volunteer services.

Here's why you, and especially the board of supervisors, whose support is necessary to make it happen, should back their effort:

* The shelter is a dump. It's old. It's cold. It's crumbling. It's too small and underequipped for a county this size and with this big a tax base. It has no place for cats, horses or the myriad other animals the officers are called to deal with.

* Thirty percent of the shelter dogs were euthanized last year. The Humane Society of Montgomery County's no-kill facility took on some of the most adoptable. Rescue groups focusing on particular breeds bailed out some purebreds. Others were adopted straight out of the shelter. Owners reclaimed 270. But 300 had to be put down because there was nowhere for them to go.

* The kill rate is no reflection on the animal control officers. If anything, it's a reflection on the too-numerous irresponsible and uncaring pet owners in the county who dump unwanted animals in the woods, refuse to spay or neuter, or simply refuse to care for their pets. Of the 190 taken to the shelter by owners, some were there for legitimate reasons, but others were there because, for instance, it never occurred to the owners that puppies poop on the floor until taught otherwise.

* A new shelter with all the modern fixings might cost around $1.5 million, but that's not a huge amount for a county like this, and the Friends are offering to help raise the money.

* Education is relatively cheap, and it could make inroads into the animal-welfare problem, too. Activists and officers cite astounding numbers of people who have no idea of the laws and regulations regarding animals, not to mention basic needs such as shots.

* The shelter saved George Bailey's life, and he would want you to support this project.

I told you about George, a shepherd-Lab-collie cross, a few weeks ago. I adopted him from the Humane Society, which got him from the shelter, where Joyce Taylor, obviously a sentimental soul, named him George Bailey because he arrived on Christmas Eve. George Bailey is the lead character in the classic Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

Which, as I also mentioned earlier, is my favorite movie of all time. But the story gets even better. Turns out the Humane Society initially had no room for George, and he got to what should have been his last day on this earth. He was scheduled to be euthanized. That was more than Taylor could stand, and she made a special appeal to the Humane Society folks, who squeezed him in.

If you won't support a place that names a Christmas Eve puppy George Bailey and then saves his life, you simply have no soul.

* You might get a bell if you support this project.

I'm not promising anything, but Mary Ellen Jones of Blacksburg planted that idea in my head when she e-mailed me about my George Bailey column.

"Hopefully your story will help others to see the benefits of adopting pets who, often through no fault of their own, need a second chance," she wrote. "I think you should put a bell around George's neck to remind you that you are the angel who deserves wings for saving a life."

That's another "It's a Wonderful Life" reference, of course. The angel who saves Jimmy Stewart explains that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

Is that a great fund-raising gimmick or what? Donate money, earn your angel wings, get a bell. Adopt a dog or cat, earn your angel wings, get a bell.

* This is not a pipe dream. Montgomery County has a new administrator and some new supervisors who are believed to be animal-friendly. The Friends are hopeful.

George would be delighted if you'd show your support. So would I.

For more information on VA PAWS, visit its Web site: www.vapaws.org