Suffolk Humane Society marks year of efforts to end euthanasia

With soulful eyes, wagging tails and furry bodies quivering with excitement, dozens of dogs and cats poke their noses to the kennel wires, hoping for a kind word, a hug - and, maybe - even a home.

If the scene tugs at your heart, you need to know about the Suffolk Humane Society that's celebrating its first birthday this month.

The society's overall mission is to end euthanasia as a means of controlling pet overpopulation in Suffolk. T he society's 200 members are dedicated to educating the public on responsible pet ownership, facilitating pet adoptions, sponsoring low- cost spay/neuter programs, and - long range - building their own shelter.

They also donate hundreds of hours to volunteering at the Suffolk Animal Control Center.

The city-run animal shelter is a refuge for homeless companion s that have strayed or been given away. Some of the animals may have been removed from abusive homes - and some, like many of the hunting hounds, were abandoned on the side of the road.

An occasional snake, rabbit, ferret, parakeet or lizard finds it way into the shelter according to Harry White, acting chief animal control officer. Ten volunteers from the Suffolk Humane Society assist White and four other animal control officers in caring for - and loving - the homeless critters at the shelter.

"The humane society volunteers socialize with the animals, walking and playing with them," he said. "They exercise and bathe them and coordinate adoption events with us."

The volunteers also foster adoptable cats and newborn or pets with special needs.

Angie Chandler, executive director of the Suffolk Humane Society, said the humane society and the animal shelter work closely. She praises the shelter staff but laments the times when animals are euthanized.

Medical and behavioral issues may force the shelter's decision to euthanize but overcrowding can be a factor as well.

The shelter's facility on Forest Glen Drive, with 48 dog kennels and 16 cat cages, takes in not only abandoned, adoptable pets, but those that are being held in protective custody.

Lt. Debbie George of the Suffolk Police Department said for several months the shelter cared for five of the pit bulls taken from the Surry kennel that belonged to NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

More than 30 small breed dogs are housed at the shelter after being taken from a rundown kennel in south Suffolk recently.

There are seasonal surges in the shelter population, too, George said, at the holidays, in spring when dogs are having litters and at the end of hunting season when some hunters abandon their non-productive hounds.

"We frequently find our shelter full, but we aren't a private organization that can say no, "she said. "We have to take what's there and that means making unfortunate choices."

A new shelter is the humane society's long-range goal. Chandler said plans for a new shelter are fluid, but the organization is estimating the cost at about $10 million. They're hoping to find corporations or individuals to support the project and are planning a major fundraiser - the First Annual Mutt Strut Dog Walk and Festival - for September at Sleepy Hole Park.

"We want our new shelter to be a fun, light place to be with the animals," she said. "We want it to be a green, sustainable building with a dog park - something Suffolk doesn't have now."

The group also works in other ways to reduce pet overpopulation, a problem in every city, George said. In the past year, the humane society has sponsored 15 adoption events and taken photos of all the shelter's adoptable pets every week to place in newspapers, on five national data bases and on the society's Web site - www.suffolkhumanesociety.com

Their efforts led to 100 adoptions from the Suffolk animal shelter. Fifty of those were cats adopted by the society and cared for at the PetSmart store's public adoption center at Chesapeake Square until they were adopted into permanent homes.

The society has also sponsored 30 Suffolk Spay Days when 900 cats and dogs were spayed or neutered in addition to receiving discounted vaccinations, preventative care and microchipping. Thanks to the society's donation, Meals on Wheels has distributed 850 pounds of pet food to housebound residents with pets.

The society has logged more than 1,000 volunteer hours for the city's companion animals, including exhibits at 25 local events, such as Peanut Fest, to promote the organization and its mission

Next on their agenda is a feral cat program to reduce the number of feral strays taken to animal control and euthanized as unadoptable and expanded education programs in responsible pet ownership.

"What the humane society has been able to do for the shelter is remarkable," George said. "We don't have the manpower to do all that they do, their hundreds of hours of volunteer work would have to be paid for or would go undone."

Phyllis Speidell, 222-5556

Phyllis.Speidell@pilotonline.com