Marble – Workers at the Valley River Humane Society’s animal shelter know only one speed: non-stop. The staff attrition rate is high, and the shelter is often beyond capacity.
“We can’t keep help,” secretary Carol Reagan says as she eyes a spreadsheet of about 200 residents.
Serving Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties, the no-kill animal shelter covers a huge territory. The shelter is in desperate need of employees and volunteers, but the work can be physically demanding and emotionally tough. Animal lovers quickly realize their vision of what the job entailed was a far cry from reality inside the shelter; many new hires don’t even last a full day.
There is so much to do that downtime doesn’t exist for paid staffers. Somehow, they still manage to spread love among the attention-hungry animals. What makes their efforts all worthwhile is the satisfaction of seeing an animal go out the front door with new humans in tow.
Although there was a pandemic-related surge of adoptive families, some of those animals are returning to the shelter. Parents have gone back to work, and kids are back in school.
Some people just no longer have the time to care for an animal, Reagan says. Additionally, the low rate of spaying and neutering in rural areas results in waves of unwanted puppies and kittens.
Then there are the heartbreaking intakes – those that were abused or neglected, such as a pack of four schnauzer-poodle mixes found abandoned at a church in Peachtree. The dogs are malnourished and in obvious distress. Their fur is knotted and covered in feces; the stench nearly intolerable.
The dogs don’t know it yet, but they are fortunate. They’ll be examined, fed, groomed, treated for medical issues, spayed or neutered and microchipped.
Next, their profiles will be posted on Facebook for three days. That gives their owner an opportunity to claim them – an unlikely scenario in this case. After the posting period, the four will be put up for adoption.
“They’ll look and act like totally different dogs when everything’s done,” staffer Shanea Mason says.
Because they’re small breeds, they have an excellent chance of being adopting out quickly. Large dogs take longer to re-home. They go nuts every time someone enters the main kennel building, and the eruption of noise is deafening.
Although easier to care for, cats face the same adoption waiting times that dogs do. Fortunately for both, the human society has ongoing adoption events and welcomes walk-ins at the shelter.
One visitor in December was Serrena Cable of Warne. When she entered the cat room, a swarm surrounds her. Shaggy, a 2-month-old, snags her attention, and Cable makes a decision. When she headed home with her new furry friend, it was another win for the animal and the shelter.
You can help:
- Topping the shelter’s wish list is monetary donations and new laundry equipment. Kitchen-size garbage bags, laundry detergent, bleach, paper towels, and Purina brand dog and cat food is also needed.
- The humane society is hiring both full- and part-time help. Officials prefer a working interview in lieu of a formal application process. Working applicants are paid for their time whether or not the job is a match. For details, call 837-6137.
- Volunteer, even if only for a few hours a week. You can help around the shelter, maintain the Facebook page, walk dogs or work events.
- Get your pets spayed or neutered and encourage others to do the same.
- Consider adoption. Fees are $10 for cats and $75 for dogs. Weather permitting, a weekly adoption event is held Saturdays at Tractor Supply Co. in Murphy.
- Patronize the Valley River Humane Society Thrift Shore at 1161 U.S. 64 W. in Murphy.
The animal shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 7450 U.S. 19 in Marble. To learn more, visit valleyriverhumanesociety.org, check out the Facebook page or stop by during business hours.