Animal Groups Joining Forces For Rescue Effort On April 15-17
For Sheryl Hogan, saving animals from euthanization is part of her daily life.
Hogan, of West Milford, N.J., is the leader of Sheryl’s Den Animal Rescue, a group which is coming to the Tri-Cities area on April 15-17. The group, Hogan said, is coming to rescue animals from kill shelters, raise awareness regarding animal over-population, work with local animal rescue groups and their foster homes to improve their programs, answer questions from residents and help determine the needs of local animal shelters.
“We’re doing what we can,” Hogan said. “You only have so much room.”
Hogan hopes to save as many as 55 dogs from shelters and place those animals in foster homes, with anticipation that they will be adopted by residents of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, she said.
“Every dog we pull already has a pre-arranged home to go to,” Hogan said. “But, of course, the purpose for us going there is to raise awareness on the overpopulation problem, the importance of spaying and neutering, and we’ll be helping the local rescues improve their protocols and ... improve upon their own procedures.”
Along the way, other local rescue groups are participating in the mid-April rescue effort, including Blackjack Animal Rescue, founded by Sharon Bryant, a nurse from Piney Flats, Tenn.
Bryant has plans to work with other groups to save animals, including the SPCA of Connecticut.
“They’re going to have a mega-transport, pulling animals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and go to the vets and then to boarding kennels,” Bryant said.
She’s also working with Adirondack Save a Stray, based in Corinth, N.Y.
“I rescue sometimes 50 animals a week, and it’s very stressful,” Bryant said. “But, because this is a ministry, I can keep on going.”
Hogan, of the New Jersey-based rescue group, said, “Millions of people have pets, and billions of dollars are spent on pet-related products. However, what we need to focus on is the most appalling – the millions of animals put to death in shelters each year.”
Locally, for example, the Washington County C.C. Porter Animal Shelter of Abingdon, Va., euthanized 751 animals for the year 2008, including dogs and cats, according to Shelter Supervisor Deputy Ann Rosenbaum.
Bryant, who has dedicated much of her life to saving animals, has organized a system of foster homes across the region so animals can be pulled from shelters and then placed in homes until they are adopted.
Hogan, meanwhile, has been rescuing animals for the last 10 years and said she plans to visit many shelters in the Tri-Cities area while she’s in town.
“I haven’t been making any promises as to exactly where we’re going because if I don’t get there, I’ll be disappointing a lot of people,” Hogan said. “It’s all about raising awareness – one area at a time.”
YOU SHOULD KNOW
For more information about the rescue effort, contact: Sheryl’s Den Animal Rescue at sherylh@optonline.net; or Blackjack Animal Rescue at dogship@live.com or (423) 340-2138.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement