Faithful fans and friends help fund humane society

Volunteers and community donations keep busy shelter afloat, but more is needed

Nelly is a tawny pit bull mix, with beautiful eyes, and scars that run across her midsection where she was deeply cut by a cable used to restrain her in her previous owner’s yard. When volunteers from the Muhlenberg County Humane Society brought her in to the shelter, located at 615 Muhlenberg Drive in Greenville, she had little hair and was in bad condition. That was just about six weeks ago. Now Nelly is doing much better and she’s ready to find her forever home as well.

“We’ve seen more embedded collars, or dogs tied to a tree, it’s terrible,” said volunteer and board vice-president Tammy Piper.

The humane society is the front line for protecting animals in the county, and are called upon by pet owners, neighbors, community members and law enforcement alike when assistance is needed to help save a pet’s life. “That ‘humane’ in the name means something,” said Joe Roney, another vital volunteer and board president.

“We’re the social services for dogs,” Piper adds. “We’re the voice for the animals.”

With only six employees on the staff at the shelter, board members and volunteers are called upon to lend a hand. The shelter relies on about 15 people who regularly volunteer each week, to do tasks such as dog walking and cleaning.

Piper said the shelter went from a high-kill shelter, to a place where most animals are rescued or adopted. Last year, the shelter only had to put down 18 animals. These are too sick to survive, or are too aggressive to be released as a pet.

On a recent call, the humane society responded to a hoarding situation, removing 32 animals from a property in the county. These were dogs and cats who were being fed, but their elderly owner was in bad health and unable to keep the animals from running around the neighborhood.

Volunteer Laura Rogles plays with Rika before a walk around the shelter compound. Volunteers are welcome to come and help walk dogs. Rogles also fosters pets. She is known as the “Dog Whisperer” amongst her colleagues at the shelter. Rika is available for adoption. (Leader-News photo/Stacie Barton)

These sort of calls happen every now and then, Roney said. He described a call a few years ago where they picked up dogs being used as bait to teach pit bulls how to fight. “They were scarred up, and in terrible shape,” he said. Criminal charges were brought against the owner in that case.

Kentucky has some of the most lax laws protecting animals, making it hard to rescue pets who are being abused. If they have food, water and shelter, the law is on the owner’s side. In other states, such as neighboring Illinois, laws are much tighter, which creates a demand for rescued animals.

“We do a lot of rescues,” Roney said. “We had 572 last year.” These animals are delivered to rescue organizations in the Midwest, where laws prohibiting stray animals are tight, and people are looking for pets to adopt. “It costs us quite a bit of money to give a dog away. It’s got to be heartworm tested, got to have all its vaccinations, and it’s got to have a wellness check from a veterinarian.”

The humane society spays and neuters all animals that come through their doors, gives rabies vaccinations, and provides medical attention for injured or sick animals. The cost to do this adds up, and the $100 adoption fee only puts a dent in overall cost of taking in unwanted or mistreated animals.

“We want everybody to spay and neuter, so much that they put us out of business,” Roney said. This is one thing Roney said people can do to help keep the numbers of dogs and cats down. The reason their rescue program is so successful is because other states have such strict rules about spaying and neutering pets, so they don’t have the overabundance of strays and unwanted animals.

The humane society is partly funded by the Muhlenberg County Fiscal Court, which combined with some donations from city governments, comes to about $5,000 per month. This only covers payroll for the staff, Roney said. The rest comes from the generous donations of the community.

“God bless Muhlenberg County, they come in,” Roney said. A recent call for help on the shelter’s Facebook page resulted in about 100 bags of food being brought in within hours of their plea.

“We couldn’t do it if it wasn’t for the donations, monetary and food donations,” Piper said. Whether responding to a lost dog, or animals being kept in unsafe or inhumane conditions, the shelter relies on the community to help with their mission.

The shelter averages about $2,200 each month in veterinarian bills and vaccinations, and utilities cost another $900 each month. The cost of running the shelter, when including the vehicle they own and insure, and running transports, is nearly twice as much as their $5,000 monthly budget.

Through donations, the shelter manages to keep things going. When they are in need of supplies, such as dog food, cat litter, or cleaning supplies, they make an appeal to their huge following on Facebook. They boast 11,000 followers, many who spring into action when they are in need.

“Facebook is one of our best tools,” Roney said. “And the other best tool is people’s hearts.”

When Nelly arrived at the shelter in late June, she had sores on her paws and was suffering from demodex, a parasitic mite commonly known as mange. She was found tied to a tree with no shelter, food or water, which allowed them to remove her from the situation. When her story was posted on the humane society’s Facebook page, their community rallied and donated enough money to help with her medical treatment. Now she’s ready for adoption or rescue.

Anyone looking to adopt can visit the shelter and meet the animals ready for adoption. They have a “meet and greet” room where dog owners can bring their pets to meet an animal being considered for adoption, and make sure they get along. Volunteers are always welcome and food donations can be dropped off at the shelter. Monetary donations can be sent to the Muhlenberg County Humane Society, P.O. Box 164, Greenville, KY 42345.

On Aug. 19 there will be a swim party just for dogs at the Central City Pool. The Dog Swim will be from 5 to 7 p.m. and will be $10 per dog. This will be a fundraiser for the humane society, and all pet owners will need to provide proof of vaccination records for their dog’s to participate. They are asking owners to bring non-aggressive dogs only. There will also be a contest with several categories, including best costume, best dive, and best flip. There will be a $5 fee to participate in each division. For more information, see the Muhlenberg County Humane Society’s Facebook page.