MOUNT VERNON — Number 701056 is one lucky dog.
The friendly male boxer-mix, about 4 years old, came to the Knox County Animal Shelter as a stray. But soon, he’ll be leaving Ohio for a new home in an eastern state, where strays are rare and dog shelters don’t have enough dogs.
Thanks to two local women, volunteers and canine rescue organizations, discarded dogs — strays, the lost and unclaimed, and the surrendered, who go unwanted in Knox County — are being screened, then driven east and matched up with new families.
“We started in 1998 at the Knox County Humane Society,” said Peggy Kimple, volunteer manager of the canine program, which serves both the humane society (often referred to as “the cat shelter”) and the animal shelter. “We were trying to get some purebred dogs out of the shelter. We contacted rescue groups and they would take care of all the vetting, shots, spaying or neutering. You have to be careful to place certain breeds in the right homes, but these guys know their breeds. Then we found a group that would take in mixed breeds.
“The program kind of took off. It’s become bigger than any of us ever thought it would. It’s great because we’re saving a lot more dogs. The problem is that the program has grown, but our resources haven’t.”
In 1998, 44 unwanted dogs went to rescue organizations, Kimple said. On Dec. 6, 2007, 43 dogs were rescued on that one day. In 10 years, more than 3,000 Knox County dogs have gone to rescue groups. Previously, the shelter euthanized 90 percent of its charges, but the rescue program has made euthanasia a rarity there.
Why are people in the eastern states seeking Ohio dogs?
“The East Coast has a shortage of adoptable dogs because they’ve been spaying and neutering for many years, so it [overpopulation] hasn’t become such a problem as it has here. We just started. In June 2006, when the new shelter opened, the county commissioners made it official that any dog that left the shelter was spayed or neutered. That’s because we’ve got to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
The shelter has been full, or nearly so, since its opening, and the majority of the dogs are strays.
Since the shelter has no history on its residents, to judge a dog’s suitability for rescue Kimple and volunteer Marla McCutchen give each one a 15-minute temperament test, which is videotaped in case problems develop at the dog’s new home. The test includes several component tests, each scored from 1 (the highest) to 5 (the lowest). The dog’s total score reveals much about its personality.
For the food test, the leashed dog enthusiastically dives into a mixture of dry and soft food, which dogs consider “the best of the best,” said Kimple. Using a plastic hand wearing a cloth sleeve and attached to a long pole, Kimple pulls the food bowl away, then gently pushes the dog’s head away from the bowl, watching the dog’s reaction. Number 701056 — the shelter dogs aren’t given names — scored a 1.
“He didn’t interfere,” said Kimple. “He allowed us to push him away.”
For the tag test, she ran with the dog, pushing a finger into his rump so he would turn and run the other way, back and forth.
For the look test, they make brief eye contact; the dog looks away quickly but doesn’t act threatened. Kimple gently pressed his toes; the dog licked her hand, pulled his paw away but was not aggressive. He thoroughly enjoyed the touch test, in which she ran her hands down his spine.
The dog-to-dog test is a brief meeting with another dog of the same sex. A black Labrador retriever mix was led into the room, and the dogs regarded each other curiously but calmly. A good reaction, said Kimple. She gave Number 701056 a passing grade. He’ll be heading east this month, possibly on Jan. 29 when the Rescue Waggin’ comes to town.
PetsMart Charities operates the Rescue Waggin’ and pays for medical exams, spaying or neutering, shots, heartworm testing and more. The Waggin’ has built-in, temperature-controlled crates for 40 dogs.
“They are looking for almost perfect dogs,” said Kimple. “Safe dogs that are friendly and not fearful. They’ll only take dogs that score 1s and 2s on the test.”
McCutchen and Kimple also work with rescue operations in Buffalo, N.Y., Baltimore, Md., Washington, D.C., Chicago and elsewhere. There is even a Pennsylvania rescue that specializes in pregnant dogs. Often, the women deliver dogs to the rescues, even when it means driving all day.
McCutchen fostered an ill shelter dog named Solomon for several months and brought him back to health. Solomon, who worked his way into the hearts of the shelter staff, went to the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which sends McCutchen emails and photos and even hosted a “reunion” recently.
The rescue organizations, said Kimple, match up dogs with new families, often managing to deliver dogs right to their new owners, avoiding another shelter stay.
“Dogs are social creatures,” said Kimple. “It’s so unnatural for them to be caged up.”
“Or left sitting alone,” added McCutchen.
“Shelter life is really hard on them,” Kimple said. “Sitting in a shelter is not a life.”
Their work is often heart-rending, but they take pleasure in finding dogs new homes.
“To me, it’s very rewarding to see the end result,” said McCutchen, “seeing them adopted to good homes, basically saving their lives, and getting feedback.”
She has a photograph of a white Lab that was adopted by a Mansfield resident. The dog sits serenely on a blanket on a living room floor, surrounded by toys. The note enclosed read, “My beloved spoiled Miss Holly.”
“Miss Holly,” McCutchen said approvingly of the dog’s new name. She showed the photo to a visitor. “This is where we get our reward.”
Shelter volunteers are always needed, even for an occasional hour or a day a month, to walk and socialize dogs, brush them, take their photos for the Web site at www.knoxhumanesociety.org, do laundry and more. Donations are welcomed, especially while gasoline prices are high.
“There’s so much that’s needed here,” said Kimple, “but the most important thing is to spay and neuter dogs. That is the answer. We see on a daily basis the results of not spaying and neutering.”
Thanks to the rescue operation, dogs don’t stay at the shelter long, she said.
“Don’t let your dog sit in the pound for two weeks,” Kimple advised. “It might go to rescue. Come here and look for it every other day. Don’t just call and ask. It’s not their [the staff’s] responsibility; they have a lot of work to do. If you’ve lost your dog, it’s your responsibility. It’s their job to get the dog off the street and keep it safe. It’s your job to find your dog at the shelter and take it home.”
