rockinghamcountyanimalshelter
rockinghamcountyanimalshelter
| Forum role | Member since | Last activity | Topics created | Replies created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Mar 26, 2013 (13 years) |
- | 1 | 0 |
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Bio
Rockingham County Animal Shelter Campaign
The Rockingham County Animal Shelter Campaign was launched in October 2008. It was was devoted to building the animals of Rockingham County, NC the shelter they deserve and, subsequently, reducing the county’s staggering upper 90% euthanasia rate. Throughout the course of the campaign, we raised $250,000 in private donations and grants and have created awareness about the desperate need for a shelter in our county. Thanks to the efforts of our generous supporters, the new shelter became a reality! In March, 2010, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to build the new shelter in its entirety. Then the construction for the new facility began on Cherokee Camp Road in Wentworth.
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Building From The Ground Up
The Rockingham County Animal Shelter opened May 21, 2011 and is led by Director Kevin Baughn who was previously the Town Administrator for Stoneville. This was the first official animal shelter for Rockingham County. The shelter’s first challenge was the unexpected amount of animals it would intake. Quickly everyone realized that more help would be needed to care for the growing number of animals. More staff members had to be added in order to take care of the nearly 6,000 animals that came through the shelter doors.
In the first year we wanted to reach out to the community and provide a low-cost option for spaying & neutering, which would greatly impact the number of unwanted litters seen each year. This in turn would affect the shelter with the number of animals arriving yearly. We partnered with Planned Pethood Spay & Neuter Clinic out of Greensboro, North Carolina in January of 2011 to offer assistance with spaying and neutering the county’s animals. The cost to the citizens is $75 for dogs and $65 for cats. Many joined in the program of getting their animals altered but many still said that even though it was low-cost it was still too expensive for them to afford even though they wanted to participate in the program. Our County Manager, Lance Metzler and commissioners understood the peoples’ concerns and supported the shelter in a way to offer free spay and neuter. The shelter’s program is funded by generous donations and through funds provided by the state of North Carolina. This was to help people who were on government assistance and people that financially qualified for the State program. When the word spread about this opportunity the out pour from the citizens was in full force. In October of 2012 the program was launched and our first free spay and neuter clinic was booked with surgeries within the first week. Planned Pethood saw the need for additional surgery dates and offered a second spay and neuter day which also quickly filled. As of right now the shelter is pleased to announce that we stay busy every month with providing surgeries to the community. Since the launch of the Free Spay and Neuter program the shelter, along with Planned Pethood’s assistance has provided close to 300 free surgeries. If you live in Rockingham County and would like more information on the Free Spay & Neuter program or even the Low-Cost Spay & Neuter program please contact the animal shelter at 336-394-0075 for more details.
Along with providing spay and neuter opportunities to the public the shelter holds a low-cost rabies clinic twice a year for the dogs and cats of the community to get their vaccination. On October 27, 2012 the shelter with the help of Dr. Steven Swanner and the trained technicians provided 205 rabies shots to our community. In 2012 the Animal Shelter along with the Rockingham County Health Department provided more then 1,400 low-cost rabies vaccinations to our citizen's pets.
With so many animals coming into the shelter the administration and staff work very hard on making the animals available for adoption. As part of the adoption fee all animals are altered, micro-chipped and current on vaccinations before leaving the shelter. A lot of work goes into each animal before placing them up for adoption from the time they enter the shelter. All animals are vaccinated upon intake before moving them into the general population of the shelter. After their holding period is over they are evaluated to see if they get along with other animals, tested for heart worms or FELV/FIV and given their rabies vaccine. After getting all their necessary medical information updated it is time for their photo shoot with a staff member who tries to get the best picture possible to showcase the animal’s personality or appeal to the public. Our adoption numbers have grown each year with more people starting to know and become familiar with the shelter and its location. For 2013 the shelter is looking to more progressive ways to improve their adoption rates through grants and we look forward to what the future holds for the animals of the county. When the shelter first started the Shelter Manager and staff would go off site to promote the shelter with adoption fairs in the community and surrounding areas. With the new shelter the adoptions increased and more people were looking at adoption first before going to buy their new family member from other sources.
Another focus of the shelter is increasing the number of animals returning to their original homes. If you have a missing pet please stop by your local animal shelter to check to see if they have been dropped off and we urge you to check more than once. Making a Lost Flyer with a picture of your pet and telephone number is a great asset in reuniting you with your lost animal. This is not only helpful to staff members when in taking strays brought in by Animal Control but also valuable to the public who might have seen your pet before they even get to the shelter. Micro-chipping your animal is a great tool to have in retrieving your lost family member as well. A micro-chip provides information about the owner, their address, best contact information along with identification of the pet such as name, breed and if they have been altered. When your pet is lost and has a micro-chip as identification their chances of being reunited are much greater once they arrive at a veterinary hospital or animal shelter.
The shelter has been opened for nearly two years and has made great improvements in the time it has been opened. The Rockingham County Animal Shelter looks forward to its future and growth of adoptions, return to owners and other programs like the Free Spay and Neuter assistance to help the citizens and animals of Rockingham County.
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