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Animal House
They’re all accepted,
neglected dogs,
one-horned cows,
abandoned horses.
Caring for
unwanted animals
is a 24/7 mission
for Washington
County animal
shelters
By Jamie Ivanac
Sherry Knight’s Canton Township home can
truly be called an “animal house.” Nearly 25
years ago, Knight rescued a stray puppy, and
since then, at least a thousand animals have
called her house “home.”
In 1985, after noticing how many stray animals
claim their neighborhood as territory, Knight and her
husband founded PAW (People for Animal Welfare),
a no-kill, home-sheltered animal rescue organization.
In 1995, Knight changed the name to Petsearch.
Photo: Sherry Knight of Petsearch snuggles
a very adoptable kitten.
In 23 years, Petsearch has rescued more than
5,000 animals, 90 percent of which were strays.
“Animals have no voice to speak for themselves.
People leave their homes and leave their pets behind,”
says Knight, who serves as Petsearch CEO and
animal placement coordinator. “We get strays off the
street and into foster homes.”
Knight says she chose fostering as opposed to the
kenneling model because it allows for close evaluation
of an animal within the home environment. “There
are times when we find that a pet is fine as an ‘only’
pet, but does not deal well with other dogs or cats.
Sometimes, it is found that a pet is very good with
adults but not children. Knowing these limitations
cuts down on the return of a pet after adoption,” she
explains.
“Plus, at one time, this was someone’s pet. That’s
why many animals don’t make it in shelters - they are
not used to being in cages. Family pets need to stay in
family environments.”
At any time, Knight says she has available
between 15 and 25 foster homes in Washington,
Allegheny and Greene counties, including her own.
Knight has 24 pets – six dogs and 18 cats – in
addition to fostered animals. “People ask me if it’s
difficult to be a foster...don’t I want to keep the pets
myself? My husband constantly reminds me that the
more animals we keep, the fewer we can rescue,” she
says. “We need to bring more in, so that we can find
them new homes.”
Knight even has a foster home for exotic animals,
such as lizards, iguanas and guinea pigs. Over the
years, she’s found homes for cows, horses, pot-bellied
pigs and pygmy goats.
Like other animal rescue organizations operating
on a shoestring, Petsearch relies heavily on volunteers.
With no paid employees, Petsearch needs volunteers
to help with special events and fundraising, transport, public relations, etc., as well as daily tasks such
as cleaning cages at Petsmart, where cats are
available for adoption.
Knight also has another group of
volunteers at her disposal. She is an art teacher
at Trinity High School, and she says the
students are wonderful volunteers.
“Caring for animals gives kids a sense of
responsibility,” she says. “They help with
adopt-a-thons and rabies clinics. Once, I
rescued some orphaned kittens that needed to
be bottle fed. I brought the kittens to school,
and my students helped care for them. When I
get a litter of kittens at my house, the students
come to visit them. They even bring gifts!”
“There is no glory in animal rescue,” says
Knight. “But it does give you a deep-hearted
comfort knowing that you can be there for an
abandoned pet or help care for an animal that
is sick.”
For more information about Petsearch, and
to see a list of pets looking for a home, visit
www.petsearchpa.org or call 724.228.SEEK.
When Nancy Shannon founded Angel Ridge Animal Rescue in 2000,
she did not know what her “niche” would become. “We rescue
handicapped, abused and aged animals and try to get them adopted
into good homes,” says Shannon. “We are known to be a shelter that is
good at helping handicapped pets.”
Angel Ridge rescues animals from high-kill shelters in West
Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, as well as Pennsylvania.
Photo: A rescued horse
roams free and in
safety at Angel Ridge
Animal Rescue.
“The internet is the best thing to have happened to animals in the
history of the world,” says Shannon, who
receives about 200 emails per day. “So many
animals are alive today that would not have
been, because nobody knew about their
situation. We even had a litter of puppies
flown to us from Texas.”
In March, an Angel Ridge volunteer
rescued a dog, thought to be dying and
about to be euthanized, from a shelter in
Ohio. The dog, only about a year old,
was suffering from a severe case of mange
and an eye infection. The volunteer brought
the young dog to Angel Ridge, where it
received veterinary care and a lot of TLC.
Today, Simba-Bella is “like a new dog,”
says Shannon. “She’s always running,
playing and barking, and she loves to go
for car rides.”
“Having the resource of the land
[Angel Ridge is located on 50 acres in
Chartiers Township], and the ability to
give them a nice life, combined with my
love of animals – that equals the rescue
we have today.”
While Angel Ridge deals primarily with dogs, rescued horses –
and even a one-horned cow – have called the farmland home. One of
the horses, a thoroughbred aptly renamed Trooper, has been adopted
by a Pennsylvania State policewoman who is training it to be a part of
the State Police Ceremonial Unit. The one-horned cow is enjoying his
new life at a hoofed animal sanctuary in central Pennsylvania.
According to Shannon, it’s because of volunteers that Angel Ridge
has been able to help so many animals. The 75-80 active volunteers
walk dogs, fix buildings, “do whatever is needed,” she says. “Two of
our volunteers, who are also board members, have taken several blind
dogs under their wing. The father and daughter pair recently funded a
trip to a special ophthalmology vet for one of our dogs, a puppy from
North Carolina, that might get his sight back.”
Photo: Nate Moore, a volunteer
at Angel Ridge, spends
time with a puppy
Since 2000, Angel Ridge has helped more than 1,500 pets find
loving homes. “I was never allowed to have pets while growing up,”
says Shannon. “I guess I’m making up for lost time.”
For more information about Angel Ridge Animal Rescue, and to
find out how you can help, log on www.angelridge.petfinder.com or
call 724.229.7053.
The Humane Touch
For more than 100 years, Washington Area Humane Society
(WAHS) has been helping animals in Washington, Greene, Fayette
and parts of Allegheny counties. Located on Route 136 in North
Strabane Township, WAHS is at any given time home to up to
45 dogs and more than 100 cats.
Like Petsearch and Angel Ridge Animal Rescue, WAHS is a
no-kill shelter. The animals live at the shelter until they are adopted.
WAHS board member Faye Kennedy points out that because of
limited space and resources, there is a necessary “admission” process.
Animals that were adopted from WAHS but are being returned are
taken in first, followed by animals rescued by humane and animal
control officers. These animals have no one to take care of them.
Privately owned, surrendered animals are last on the list.
“When the shelter is overcrowded, dogs have been temporarily
corralled in the office, the supply room and even the bathrooms,” says
Kennedy. “When our animals are not quickly adopted and there is no
more room, deserving dogs cannot be taken in. As a result, good
Samaritans who pick up a stray or rescue an animal from a neglectful
home find that they have to turn the animal over to an alternative
shelter where their existence may have a time limit.”
WAHS employs three humane officers who investigate more than
700 abuse cases each year. When appropriate, WAHS will file animal
cruelty charges on behalf of the animals and the community.
The shelter is equipped to house both dogs and cats, but can help
find a safe place for other types of animals, including farm animals.
In 2007, WAHS rescued nearly 2,000 animals, including a duck, a pig,
a rabbit and two goats.
“The animals are of all ages,” says Kennedy, “older dogs and
cats make great pets, but they are often overlooked for the puppies and
kittens.”
For more information, including a list of adoptable dogs and cats,
visit www.washingtonpashelter.org or call 724.222.PETS.
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