All Four Feet

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

by Kelly Patton Brook

For the Lincoln County Animal Shelter the New Year will begin pretty much as it ended. In the early morning the dogs will be let out of their indoor cages into their outdoor enclosures. The cleaning begins. Once fresh beds and food have been placed in the scrubbed cages, the dogs are let back in to eat while the outside pen is being power hosed and scrubbed. At the same time the cat and kitty areas in the main building will be cleaned, not only the cages but the rooms as well, including all surfaces. Walls and floors are washed down with disinfectant and water. 

At any given time this could mean twenty-five dog cages are cleaned and all the dogs and puppies fed. It takes much of the rest of the day for the staff to complete cleaning and feeding in the ‘cattery’, which is housed away from the main building. The New Year will begin with at least one hundred and twenty cats and kittens. 

The shelter opens at eleven. By that time the main building is spic and span and ready for visitors.

Of course cleaning cages is an on-going duty. Each time there is an accident the staff is ready to clean it up.

At eleven visitors sign in and then are invited to visit the animals. A guided tour is offered by a staff member for first timers to the shelter.

Many of the animals that come to LCAS have either been abused or are sick. Trips to the vets are routine for the staff. Also medication by the staff is given to those animals who are suffering with ailments ranging from upper-respiratory disease to skin disease, malnutrition, hernias, tumors, stomach disorders, rotten teeth, infected toenails. Most cats and dogs are in great need of grooming. All animals, taken in by the shelter, except very small puppies and kittens, are given rabies and distemper shots at once unless there is proof by a vet that they are up to date on all vaccinations. Sometimes animals will come in with broken bones or other injuries. These are immediately taken to the vets.

There are so many duties performed by the LCAS Staff that I can’t cover in this newsletter.

It is a New Year. May LCAS be as blessed in 2012 as it was in 2011. We will always welcome whatever you can do to help us keep up the good work of the devoted staff at the shelter.

As soon as we adopt out an animal it seems as if two more come to us, looking for a loving home. Please visit in the New Year and give a forever home to one or two or more.

DOZER SPRINGER MIX – EIGHT YEARS OLD STILL LOOKING FOR A HOME IN THE NEW YEAR.

‘SEVEN’ HUSKY YEAR AND A HALF – WENT HOME BECAUSE OF ARTICLE IN THE NEWS BUT NEEDS A HOME WITH SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HUSKIES... NO SMALL CHILDREN, SMALL DOGS OR CATS.

TWISTER GIRL, YEAR OLD HOUND – DID NOT FIND A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS --- BUT LOOKING FOR A NEW YEAR- FOREVER HOME.