The Scoop-OBX News and notes from the Dare County Animal Shelter

A Story by obxaco

Latest issue of bi-weekly newspaper column written by an animal control officer

THE SCOOP

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE OUTER BANKS S.P.C.A. & THE DARE COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER

By: Richard C. Crino

Welcome back! Do you believe that it's March already? The clocks have been moved forward and spring is on the way! I think it's safe to say that we are all looking forward to March "going out like a lamb" . This was a mild winter and we got a lot accomplished.

RABIES CLINIC AND OTHER REMINDERS

Final arrangements have been made for our spring Rabies Clinic. It will be held Saturday, March 29th at the Volunteer Fire Department in Avon on Harbor Road. Hours will be from 11AM to 1PM and rabies shots for dogs and cats will be available for a cost of only $5.00. This is for Dare County residents only. Remember, all dogs and cats are required by law to be vaccinated against rabies by the time they reach four months of age.

The American Red Cross Pet First Aid class will be held Saturday, April 5^th at the Outer Banks Y.M.C.A. This event is sponsored by the Outer Banks S.P.C.A., and will be open to the public. Class size will be limited to 20 participants and the class is expected to last about 4 1/2 hours. Our S.P.C.A. has generously offered to pay half of everyone's $50.00 registration fee. Information on exact times and how and when to sign up will be coming soon.

The Outer Banks S.P.C.A will again be participating in the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday, March 16th. This promises to be a fun family event and we hope to see you there!

SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISERS & SPECIALTHANKS

On behalf of the Outer Banks S.P.C.A. and all of us at the Dare County Animal Shelter, I want to thank everyone that helped with our February fundraisers. Both of these events were successful far beyond our expectations!

The Seaside Art Gallery in Nags Head donated 10 % of their February sales of animal related art and merchandise and held a really nice reception for us last month. We hope to get together with them again next year, if not before.

The Pound-A-Thon was also a great benefit and a lot of fun. We saw a lot of old friends, and made a lot of new ones, as well. The “Top Dog” award was given to Sarah Alexander, representing Roanoke Island Animal Clinic and the “Top Cat” award went to Pastor Wally Odum and his wife, Gwenn. We’d also like to thank all of those that donated food, services, and items for auction: Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Ortega’z Grill, Hooters, Beach 104, Water Country 94.5, Dominion Power, Endless Possibilities, The Lost Colony, Pet Gallery, Art, Glass, and Fire, Roanoke Island Animal Clinic, Martins Point Veterinary Hospital, Coastal Animal Hospital, The Town of Southern Shores, Lupine Collars and Leads, First Colony Inn, and Puparazzi Pet Bow-tique.

FRIENDS OF OUTER BANKS ANIMALS

Donations were up in February and for this we are always grateful. We had one gentleman that was kind enough to donate a thousand dollars and other donations made “In Memoriam”. Spontaneous donations made at the Shelter or at the many donation boxes at businesses around the Outer Banks are always greatly appreciated.

The Outer Banks S.P.C.A. is, as I’m sure you are aware, a non profit organization. We contract with the County of Dare to provide services such as Animal Control and receive funds from the County to cover some of those basic operating costs. The S.P.C.A., however, feels a responsibility to go beyond these fundamental law enforcement and animal housing functions and reach out to the community to promote adoptions, spay and neuter assistance, education, to provide basic medical care to homeless animals, and more. To encourage community participation and better steer donations toward specific needs, the Outer Banks S.P.C.A. has unveiled the “Friends of Outer Banks Animals” program. As a member, your donation can be steered toward specific accounts earmarked for Medical care, Adoptions, Community education, Spay & neuter programs, or Shelter improvement. You can show your support at several different levels identifying you as a “Friend”, a “Rescuer”, a “Guardian”, etc. each carrying benefits of their own. Contact The Shelter or ask any of our representatives for more information.

WHO'S WHO AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER

In our continuing effort to help you to get to know us better here at the Animal Shelter, the spotlight shines this week on Animal Control Officer Josie Alford. Josie has done it all here at the Shelter. Starting out as a road officer, in late 2005, she is about as devoted and dependable as they come. It's safe to say that Josie knows her way around this Animal Shelter. She has done almost every job here at one time or another, working equally hard to do an excellent job at whatever task she has in front of her. Most recently, Officer Alford does most of our dispatching and customer service. She has a real talent for working with the public although there is never any doubt that she is an advocate for the animals first.

Originally from Charleston, S.C., Josie grew up in Florida and Alabama in the area known as the panhandle. She grew up on the sugar white beaches of the Gulf with her parents, two brothers, two sisters, and a large amount of other family always nearby.

Josie has many fond memories and stories to tell of family camping trips with watermelon cooling in the water and cooking supper over the fire. These tales are seconded only by stories of her pets as a kid. Ask her about "Porky", a Collie mix that her mother would send to find and bring the kids home for supper. The Cockers, "Candy and Max" also sound like a couple of characters. Candy was the watch dog that would sound an alarm at any kids that may be sneaking in the window after curfew and Max was likely to join you unexpectedly in the bathtub!

Josie moved with her family to the Triad area of North Carolina in her teens and remained there until she moved to the Outer Banks in 2005. She lives in Wanchese now with her husband Ross, and her dogs, Neadew, a German Shepherd and Lucy, a Miniature Dachsund. Josie is also the proud mother of a son, Adam, daughter, Lindsey, and "adopted stepson", Alex. Josie spends her spare time with her husband and her dogs at the beach in the summer and enjoys Quilting and quiet time.

When I asked Josie what she likes or dislikes about her job, she responded, "I still can't understand why neighbors are not willing to work together to solve their problems and the misconception that Animal Control is still viewed as the sinister dogcatcher really bothers me when we work so hard to take care of the animals" Josie then adds, "When we find a good home for a homeless animal and get to see them sometimes months later happy with their new families it makes it all worthwhile."

ADOPTIONS

Well, we've got another good round of adoptions to report! Since last we met, Todd, Sailor, Bubbles and Harley, Paws, Tubby, Beauty, Jessie, and Autumn have all moved on to start their new lives with some really special families. Extra congratulations go to Jessie and Autumn who had been with us longer than most. As always, we hope that you'll bring 'em back to visit or at least send pictures!

ASK ANIMAL CONTROL - DOG BITES

Within the last few weeks, there have been several incidents brought to our attention which we feel could possibly have been avoided or their impact lessned with a little more awareness. As long as we choose to live together with animals, accidents will happen from time to time. Dog bites are a fact of life. After all, dogs, if you think about it, were designed for one world and are living in another. Their ability to understand our world and communicate their needs, fears, and frustrations is quite limited. As caretakers, we need to try to anticipate the situations in which our animals may get in to trouble. For example, I know that my dog feels a need to challenge other large dogs. Knowing this about her, I have to limit her exposure to situations where she may meet other dogs that may be off leash. We need to know our pets particular quirks and adjust his or her routines accordingly. Our concern should be the safety of our pets, that of our neighbors and their pets, and, of course, our liability if something should go wrong.

Animal Control sees things go wrong often. People and pets are injured by other people's animals every day. Good, well meaning people get sued, good animals need to be quarantined or are given up to shelters only because someone wasn't paying attention. In North Carolina, every dog (or cat) that bites a person must be quarantined for a period of ten days -at the owner's expense. The Health Department may be petitioned to declare a dog "Potentially Dangerous" in certain circumstances for the safety of the community. If this should happen, they lose the privilege of letting their dog run loose or even being out in the yard unattended. This is usually due to an owner's reluctance to or inability to control their dog. So let's just try to be a little more conscious of Sparky's quirks and see trouble coming before he does - for his sake.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…

Let’s not forget, too, that we humans invited and encouraged these animals to become dependent on us and we now have an obligation to care for them!

Send your questions or comments to:

Ask Animal Control

C/o Dare County Animal Shelter

P.O. Box 1000

Manteo, N.C. 27954

E-mail

Rich at [email protected]