First they checked the dates penned on the intake information posted on each
kennel. By law, the public shelter must hold stray animals for three days,
after which it may release them for adoption or euthanize them if no one has
come forward to claim them or the kennel becomes too full to keep them any
longer.
Wellington's agency does everything it can to save dogs, but by law it's an
enforcement agency, not a humane society, and SARA provides a needed link
between the two, he said.
Three dogs qualified for temperanment testing on Wednesday - a sleek and lively
black Labrador-pit bull female; a larger, shaggier and shyer black male of
unknown breed; and an obedient and attentive shepherd mix.
Holley stepped into the run with the lab-pit mix and gave the bright-eyed dog a
couple of commands, following the Oregon Humane Society guidelines for testing.
"We've got 'sit' and 'lie down', now let's see how she responds to taking a
treat, great, very gentle," Holley said, as Robertson ticked off boxes on a
checklist.
"The temperament test tries to replicate what a dog would encounter in a family
situation," Robertson said. For instance, the volunteer might startle the dog
by dropping keys to see if they respond with agression or fear or try to take
food away as a young child might do.
Occasionally a dog doesn't pass the test, but if SARA believes its behavior may
have been affected by health issues or the stress of being removed from its
previous home, it may take custody of it anyway.
"If we come across a dog like that and we have space, we place it in one of our
volunteer foster homes," Robertson said. "We want these dogs to have every
chance to find a new home."
On Wednesday, all three dogs passed the test. Robertson headed for the office
to call Greenhill Humane Society to see if it had room for more dogs and
arranged for one to go to a foster home until Tuesday's trip to Portland.
"We could leave them here until then, but LCAS's fairly full, and if they
suddenly get several strays in one day, which by law they must hold onto, these
dogs would have to be euthanized," Robertson said.
Humane societies generally have as many cats as they can accommodate, so SARA
takes cats out of the county facility only if enough foster homes can be
provided for them.
That often means going to Holley's house, where she and her fiance, Kris
McLaren, maintain one room entirely devoted to fostering cats.
On Thursday, Holley took four 9-week-old kittens she'd fostered from birth from
her home to SARA's Treasures, a secondhand store Robertson opened to support
the organization's animal rescue efforts.
Shy at first, Cyrus, Sylvester, Faith and Onyx soon began exploring their new
surroundings, hopping up on display shelves or scooting under racks of
clothing.
Located at 871 River Road, the store's entire inventory - clothing, books,
jewelry, art works, toys and knick-knacks - has been donated by people in the
community.
Proceeds from the shop, help cover SARA's veterinary bills, spay/neuter fees,
rent and wages for Robertson and store manager Robin Loving. In addition, SARA
receives donations of money and pet supplies from individuals and businesses in
the community.
The store's new "spokeskittens" almost certainly would have been put down along
with their pregnant mother if SARA hadn't intervened, Robertson said, but she
doesn't want people to blame the county for euthanizing so many of the animals
turned in to them.
"They do everything they can, but they don't have the financial or community
support they need - we need everybody to be advocating on LCAS's behalf,"
Robertson said. "This is important - we need to give animals the (maximum)
chance to be reclaimed or adopted."
The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon June 8, 2003. pg. A.1
Copyright 2003 The Register-Guard.
All right reserved.Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further
reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.