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FROM THE DIRECTOR:
Twenty-five years ago I became a board
member of the Avery County Humane Society.
At that time the Humane Society was pushing
the County to have animal control. The
biggest problem was that the Society wanted
a leash law. The president of the board was
from Charlotte and didn’t realize that she
was asking for the impossible. These
mountain people have always let their dogs
run free and would never listen to that
idea.
I encouraged the board to think about
building a shelter for the unwanted and
abandoned animals around the county. Many
people in the county were anxious for a
shelter. The County Commissioners promised
to match our efforts. Fund-raising began.
In 1988 we opened the shelter doors.
One employee was hired. I volunteered. It
was a good month when we adopted 15 to 20
animals. Now we have five employees every
day and adopt 45 to 50 dogs and cats a
month. We get about 80 phone calls a day
and adopt to people from Michigan to
Florida. Last month two different people
flew into NC, rented vehicles, and drove to
our shelter.
What made the difference? It has been
the internet along with caring employees. We
have been told by many people that our
website is the best they have seen. The
pictures we take and the information we give
about our animals show that we are doing our
job. Now, all of our animals are adopted
to be inside animals and we find wonderful
homes. Am I proud of our accomplishments? I
truly am. Twenty-five years of work to
help animals. I have enjoyed every moment.
Alice Sudderth
Avery Friends of the Shelter:
Avery Friends of the Shelter is the newly
formed group who is working to build the
Society a new shelter. The group is headed
by JoAnn Becker as honorary chair and Marti
Huizenga as chair. Much work has already
been accomplished. Land has been purchased
and the County Commissioners have given
additional land. The area is on the left
above Ingles in Newland.
The new shelter promises to include
much more space for our animals; quarantine
rooms; adoption/meeting rooms; offices for
the executive director, shelter manager,
business manager, education director; an
education center; an adoption center; and
air-conditioning. Future plans include
employing a veterinarian with a wellness
program for the public and dog
walking/hiking trails.
Many of you know that I plan to retire
soon. Nothing makes me happier than to see
my employees and the animals in Avery County
have the best possible. I thank this group
of special people for doing this for us.
Alice
ANSWERED PRAYERS
Piper
Piper came into
the shelter as a stray in April of 2007. We
decided he was around 18 months old. The
chances of being adopted after an animal is
six months old drop by half and after a year
even more.
Piper was a very
friendly guy but seemed to get passed over
so many times. There was one family with
five children who wanted to adopt him but
after the visit found one of the children to
be highly allergic.
The Roy's visit
often to bring a huge bag of milk bones to
the dogs and to socialize with the cats.
Each time they would come they couldn’t
believe that Piper was still with us. One
day they made up their minds to take him
home. The news is that Piper fit right in
their home. The dogs are even tolerating
him! There is always hope.
Koda
Koda came to the shelter when he was
eight weeks old. Very soon we noticed that
something wasn’t right with him. He was sick
and loosing weight. After testing, we found
that the problem was Canine Parvo Virus. The
employee in the puppy area gave him
electrolytes and kept him warm. After a week
of care and love, Koda made it
through his illness. Right away he was
adopted! Who could turn away such a cute
puppy?
After one year his
family called to let us know that their son
had developed a severe allergy to animal
dander and they would have to return Koda to
our care.
We decided to let
Koda join the New Leash on Life program. He
did wonderfully. After only a few weeks this
Staffordshire Bull Terrier was more like a
kitten. Now he lives indoors with a new
family and even has his very own baby boy.
There is always hope.
Winston
Winston, a thirteen-year-old
feline, was brought to the shelter. His
owner felt, because of her health, she could
no longer care for him.
Winston began to
grieve for his home and family. He stopped
eating and drinking and developed a cold. We
truly were afraid he was going to die.
Sabrina tried different brands and flavors
of soft cat food without success. After
almost giving up, we decided to let him roam
freely in the room and at night leave his
cage door open. The next day Winston was
eating a little. He and Snowey, our office
cat, became fast friends and enjoyed eating
each other’s food.
Last month we got a call from a
elderly woman who had just lost her cat of
twelve or so years. She was very interested
in Winston and could not wait to bring him
home.
We got an update
last week that said they were afraid Winston
might be over eating but otherwise was doing
great. He even sleeps with his new owner!
There is always hope.
Maggie
Mae
Maggie Mae is an
Airedale terrier mix. She was brought in at
five months old because her owner felt she
barked too much; however, we never noticed
her barking any more than any other dog. It
didn’t take long for her to get a home. She
was adorable.
Several months
later she was returned because the owners
were “remodeling” their home and didn’t
“know how long it will take.” It didn’t
matter that she was a good dog and loved her
home. It seemed to us that Maggie hadn’t
received much attention. She was hyper and
had selective hearing. We decided to put her
in the training program, A New Leash on
Life.
Maggie was adopted from the
program and is living with her new family in
Bethesda, Maryland. They drove all the way
down to meet her and take her home. The last
we heard they could not have found a better
dog. There is always hope.
Cookie
Sometimes we get animals in who need a
little more care. Cookie is a little
six-week-old tortoiseshell kitten that was
born with one eye. Black cats/kittens are
usually the last to be adopted but she was
only in the shelter a couple weeks before a
lady called to reserve her. It seems she has
a cat that was also born with one eye, the
same color and identical to Cookie. The
family immediately fell in love with
her and took her home when she was ready.
There is always hope.
NOTE ABOUT ONE OF OUR
NEWLY ADOPTED PETS
Buck fit right into
our family- he took up with our 1 ½ yr. old
Catahoula and he stands his own with our 7
yr. old Fiest sisters. He’s like Goldilocks
– he tried every one’s bed and decided he
liked the wrought iron with the leopard
print mattress. If it’s too cold out he
would rather use a puppy pad. He learned
quickly that we have a dog condo outside,
complete with bunks, heat lamp, and
automatic feeders and water – just in case
it’s nice and they want to play outside.
So, I would say he is already “SPOILED.”
Your shelter is great. Other shelters need
to take a tour of your facility and analyze
your procedures. Thanks! Scott & Kathy
FROM AN
INMATE’S WIFE
I want to tell you the
impact the Leash on Life program has had on
many lives. My husband is one of your dog
trainers at MVCI. The prison time has been
extremely hard on our family, but there is
always a light at the end of a tunnel and
your program has been our light. I’ve
noticed compassion and patience in my
husband, two qualities unfortunately he did
not posses until he started working with the
dogs. Your program not only has changed the
lives of the dogs, but also the lives of the
inmates, their families, and the families
the dogs became a part of. It is hard to
find people or organizations still trying to
make a difference in this world and congrats
to you and your program!!! You do make a
difference!!! There is always hope.
EDUCATION REACHES BEYOND
THE
CLASSROOM
For many years Alice went
into each classroom to give talks to the
Avery County children. With so much to do at
the shelter, it became impossible to take
days off to go to the schools so Alice asked
the teachers to please bring their classes
to the shelter. Here are some instances
where a class visited the shelter:
LIFE
SKILLS CLASS
The
Avery County High School Life Skills Class
donated proceeds from their “Delectable
Doggie Delites” project to the Avery Humane
Society. The class learned about measuring
ingredients, decorating jars, and
communicating with the people to whom they
sold the cookies. The class brought the
proceeds to Ms. Alice at the shelter. The
class also brought some of their cookies for
the shelter dogs. They hope to do a “bigger”
project this spring. The community responded
well to the project. Great work Class and
Ms. Rogers. (This class comes to the shelter
monthly.)
MS.
KING’S CLASS VISITS
Ms. King’s Tag group from
Cranberry Middle School came to the shelter
to present Ms. Alice a donation from their
Christmas gift wrapping project. The Class
also came to work. When asked if they wanted
to clean up after the dogs or the cats, we
were all surprised to see Ms. King and 3/4
of the class go toward the dog room. They
didn’t mind at all scooping poop. Daryl
explained to the group about the need to
disinfect so germs didn’t spread from dog to
dog. They ended their time walking and
playing with the dogs. Ms. King told the
group that she was willing to volunteer on a
Saturday if the young people wanted to meet
her at the shelter.
AVERY COUNTY
HOME-SCHOOLERS VISIT
On a nice day in February
about 20 home-school children came to the
animal shelter to learn about caring for
dogs and cats. They also learned how to be
safe around dogs and cats. After discussing
how differently people and animals greet
their friends, how to “be like a tree” or
“be like a rock,” the children went outside
to practice what they learned. Dogs were
brought to the outside play yard where the
children interacted with the canines. The
dogs loved fetching the toys the children
threw. The children also learned that a
shelter didn’t have to be a bad place. The
animals in our shelter are happy and very
well cared for.
HERE IN THIS HOUSE
I
will never know the loneliness I hear in the
barks of the other dogs ‘out there.’
I
can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake
my world will not have changed.
I
will never know hunger nor the fear of not
knowing if I’ll eat
I
will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary
from the heat.
I
will feel the sun’s heat, and the rain’s
coolness, and be allowed
to
smell all that can reach my nose.
My
fur will shine, and never be dirty or
matted.
Here
in this house...
There will be an effort to communicate with
me on my level.
I
will be talked to and, even if I don’t
understand,
I
can enjoy the warmth of the words. I will be
given a name so that I may know who I am
among many.
My
name will be used in joy, and I will love
the sound of it!
Here
in this house...
I
will never be a substitute for anything I am
not.
I
will never be used to improve peoples’
images of themselves.
I
will be loved because I am who I am, not
someone’s idea of who I should be.
I
will never suffer for someone’s anger,
impatience, or stupidity.
I
will be taught all the things I need to know
to be loved by all.
If I
do not learn my lessons well, they will look
to my teacher for blame.
Here
in this house...
I
can trust arms that hold, hands that
touch...
knowing that, no matter what they do,
they
do it for the good of me.
If I
am ill, I will be doctored.
If
scared, I will be calmed.
If
sad, I will be cheered.
No
matter what I look like, I will be
considered beautiful and thought to be of
value.
I
will never be cast out because I am too old,
too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough.
My
life is a responsibility, and not an
afterthought.
I
will learn that humans can almost,
sometimes, be as kind and as fair as dogs.
Here
in this house...
I
will belong.
I
will be home.
Anonymous
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0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
This bar graph represents
the amount of money we have received this
fiscal year ending June 30 ($225,528). We
need $74,472 more to meet our budget. Please
help!
MAKE
US YOUR PET CHARITY
Become a “Friend”
of Avery County Humane Society and help us
to promote humane attitudes and to prevent
unnecessary suffering of animals in our
county. All donations are tax deductible.
NAME________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________
CITY_________________________________STATE_________ZIP______________
___Benefactor
Friend $1,000+ ____ Acknowledgment of this
contribution is not necessary.
___Sponsor Friend
$500-900
___Sustaining
Friend $100-499 ____This gift is in memory
of ________________________________
___Corporate Friend
$100+
___Patron Friend
$50-99 ____This gift is in honor of
__________________________________
___Contributing
Friend $25-49
___Donor Friend
$10-24 With $25 per memorial, an
acknowledgment will be sent. Send
___Business Friend $25 acknowledgment to:
Name______________________________________________
Address________________________________________
City________________________
State_________Zip____________
Make checks payable
to: Avery County Humane Society
1824 Stamey Branch
Rd. Newland, NC 28657
Or donate online at www.paypal.com
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