DID YOU KNOW that most of our local horse, dog and cat rescue, rehabilitation and rehome organizations are full-to-capacity with other people’s unwanted pets? And that they all are nonprofits that depend on our financial support to function?
To that end, I’d like to encourage all who can to participate in fundraisers that support those organizations, including the one at 10 a.m. July 19 at the 3rd 4L Arena Game Show/Animal Rescue Fundraiser, Silent Auction and Raffle. Owner Kari Payne will host a fun game show with cal stake, polo turn, half-8 and speed barrels, as well as a silent auction and raffle.
Entry fee for all events is $65. All participants receive an award. The main awards are 25 belt buckles and a saddle. Payne said the events are “extremely beginner-friendly” and lead-line is allowed (must be able to support themselves unassisted in the saddle. See the 4L arena Facebook page for additional information, prizes and events).
All proceeds will benefit Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG) and Center Valley Animal Rescue, with additional local animal rescue organizations to be added. Pre-register or sign up on the day of the show. The gate opens at 8 a.m. Contact Payne at 503-789-4247 or neropuck@msn.com. Located at 95 S. McCrorie Road in Port Angeles.
Through volunteering with Clallam County’s Emergency Management Department to work on its soon-to-be-completed Animal Disaster Plan, I’ve discovered there are a great many bleating hearts crying out with empathy for the all-too-numerous stray, unwanted and abandoned animals in our area.
Those people’s compassion has spurred many into action by finding safe havens for these animals, as well as diligently working to help with the spay or neutering of all stray intact animals, as a means to do away with unwanted cat and dog litters, from which too many offspring end up unwanted and in shelters.
The copious amount of unwanted animals living in overcrowded shelters came to my attention after the pandemic ended and owners began returning to work. Then the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society closed its doors at the Bark House last year, thereby terminating its $104,000-plus annual contract with the county to take in stray, surrendered, unwanted, hurt and dangerous animals.
Suddenly, my Facebook page was flooded with reports of abandoned dogs, either hurt, healthy or dangerous, and people trying to help, using their own time, money and resources. Regrettably, there simply were not enough people willing to provide foster homes, nor pay for veterinary care when needed.
While OPHS has reopened Bark House (with a limited capacity), at present there is no organization or facility that is under contract with the county, nor one that can accommodate the flow of canine surrenders from county residents.
To help find a solution, Clallam County’s board of commissioners started the Animal Solutions Advisory Committee. Members include some sheriff’s department staff, animal control officers, veterinarians, leaders of animal rescue organizations and members of the public. Currently they met monthly at the courthouse. In reading its July meeting minutes, available on the county website, I discovered the group is putting together an agenda to discuss sheltering needs with county commissioners at an upcoming Tuesday meeting. One topic? Letting the commissions know all agencies present are overwhelmed with the quantity of animals being abandoned. WAG alone had 70 calls in April for people asking to take abandoned or stray dogs they’ve picked up, which they didn’t have the room to take in.
They say a solution is needed urgently, and they’re looking for the commissioners’ help to provide a solution. A top priority is to provide law enforcement officers with a designated facility to take animals found in crisis situations 24/7. Not having one hampers their ability to respond effectively to a crisis situation involving animals.
Kennel space also is needed to house dangerous dogs.
How can the county provide the community with a shelter that provides enough kennel space now, work with the rescues to foster the most adoptable, and make the decision to euthanize less adoptable based on population needs? Because rescues shouldn’t be put in that decision-making process; they exist to save lives.
Mel Marshall, an ASAC member and WAG operations manager, said the county urgently needs an animal shelter to provide a safe location for lost, abandoned and neglected animals in our community. Every year, countless dogs and cats are left without care, roaming the streets (and getting hit or causing accidents by drivers avoiding hitting them) or suffering in unsafe conditions. A local county shelter would offer them a second chance — through rescue, medical care, rehabilitation and adoption. It also would serve as a vital resource during emergencies, such as natural disasters, by providing temporary housing for displaced pets.
I agree. In fact, I’d also like to see the county build and run its own top-tier shelter, complete with a hospital, that’s designed to meet the needs of the community’s unwanted animal population now and in the future, as well as a place for owners to purchase a license, microchip and provide low-cost spay/neuter services. It also should serve as a community outreach education and training center. The sheriff’s office also has more authority to manage animal welfare issues, ensuring better oversight and accountability.
In the meantime, I have to say we have a few outstanding rescue organizations and individuals who’ve been working hard to combat the overpopulation problem.
For instance, Port Angeles veterinarian Dr. Pat Dowel works with local animal rescue organizations, such as Pawsitive Animal Impact Rescue (PAIR) by providing the surgery needed when they host low-cost or subsidized spay/neuter clinics. To date, Dowel has fixed 240 animals this year.
Other Rescues, such as WAG, have Sequim’s Dr. Linda Allen working with them to provide the same. To find out more about upcoming low-cost clinics, visit PAIR, WAG — and probably your own favorite local rescue organization — Facebook pages.
On July 18-20, Neon Riders 4-H & Open Horse Show at Clallam County Fairgrounds. Newly added open classes for adults and youth who are not eligible for horse 4H classes. Buckle awards for 4-H high point divisions.
For more information, call Katie Newton at 360-775-0350 or visit the Clallam County 4H Facebook page or website.
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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also call her at 360-460-6299.
Debi Pavlich-Boaz trains Spirit, a mini-horse gelding, to stay aligned by her side as she leads him in a pattern around the barrels. She’s hopeful to get together a like-minded group of owners willing to take part in a fundraiser that offers an in-hand obstacle and trail training clinic. (Karen Griffiths)
