MN: Mower County Humane Society: Volunteers see lots of needs

Mower County Humane Society: Volunteers see lots of needs

5/21/2010 8:08:25 PM
By Carey Sharp

I have been volunteering at the MCHS for nearly six years now—a fairly short time when compared to some of our veteran volunteers. I've seen our shelter progress from a time when we actually had empty pens to now, when we haven't seen empty pens for at least two years. Frequently, I am asked the question, "How can you do what you do, day after day?" My answer is, "How can I not?"

As MCHS volunteers, we deal with more than just feeding and cleaning up after the animals in our shelter. It is both a physically and emotionally draining job as we are forced to take on bigger responsibilities, due in part to the economic state of the country and the attitude of people who are less than committed to the pets for which they should be responsible. Our shelter recently became "home" to two dogs who are an example of this sad situation.

"Felicity" is a senior husky we rescued from the Austin City Pound. She is most likely deaf, has cataracts, and liver problems. We don't know why she ended up at the pound—perhaps she wandered off as old dogs might when they've lost their senses. It's horrible to think that her owner might have just given up on her and let her go, but that's a possible scenario. "Faith" is a beautiful, old cocker spaniel who was found wandering, riddled with tumors all over her body. Her appearance brought me to tears when I first saw her, but then she looked up at me as if to say, "I'm still here, what's your problem?" It's expensive, not to mention heart-wrenching for us to care for these dogs in our shelter environment. Hopefully, we can provide these particular animals with the care and compassion that they so deserve in their final days, a rather helpless feeling.

We adopted out eight dogs last month and nine cats. Unfortunately, 22 cats came in, 17 of which were nursing kittens! Please spay and neuter your animals.

June events

June will bring many promising fundraisers for our shelter. First, the annual rummage sale will be held at the fairgrounds from June 4-6. The main collection date for items will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday at the fairgrounds. Our shelter has no room for merchandise, but people can call 437-9262 if there are questions.

On June 17, "Wine, Whiskers & Wags" will be held at the Hormel Home from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $25/person and are available at Double K, Apollo Superette, Austin Vet Clinic, and the MCHS.

On June 19, "Jerry's Other Place" will host its second "Dog Day by the River", from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This promises to be a fun event with a dunk tank (featuring the mayor), and demonstrations by both police dogs and 4-H kids. It will be aired on both AM and FM radio. Jerry's will also have food and drinks for sale and MCHS volunteers will be there with adoptable animals.

Pitbull program

In an attempt to curb the breeding and selling of pitbulls in Mower County, the MCHS is providing spay/neuter vouchers to people in Mower County. Our shelter has too many pitbulls and pit mixes and it's hard to adopt them out, due to the large number of these dogs in our area. There might have been a market for these dogs five years ago, but not anymore. Many of these lovely dogs are being euthanized, due to the lack of responsible homes and people who truly understand what it involves to be a good dog owner. We're not picking on these dogs, but rather, the irresponsible people who are breeding them. Please call the MCHS at 437-9262 for details.

Memorials

Finally, we gratefully acknowledge memorials that we have received in memory of Art Mills, Louis Schuster, Kevin Sass, Mike Vilt, Donald Burgess Sr., "Sophie" Sharp, "Katie" Rush, and "Tucker" Rush.

Carey Sharp is a volunteer with the Mower County Humane Society.

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