Column: Shorelines

Courtesy of Donna Essig

Photos courtesy of Donna Essig

Whitman and Godiva (top), two Australian shepherd-mix puppies were rescued from a local dumpster. They, and their six siblings, are available for adoption at the Franklin County Humane Society.

There is an old adage that states: One person's trash is another person's treasure. That may be true when you are talking about old clocks, broken necklaces or ugly lamps, but when she learned that a living creature had been treated as "trash," Donna Essig, president of the Franklin County Humane Society, said she had to get involved.

During the coldest temperatures of the winter, kittens and puppies, as well as grown cats and dogs, have been abandoned in and around area dumpsters.

"The last week in January, a litter of eight Australian shepherd-mix puppies was found in a plastic storage box," said Essig. "On Jan. 9, a Jack Russell-terrier mix we call Audrey Bernadette was found. It was 16 degrees that night. With her thin little white coat, she would have frozen to death that night."

David Bernard found Audrey B. on that cold January evening in Snow Creek. He said what he saw nearly broke his heart.

"She was very, very friendly," remembered Bernard. "She ran right up to us and started rolling over on our feet and chewing on our britches legs and shoestrings."

Audrey B. is one of about 15 animals Bernard has found at the dumpster.

"I don't understand how anybody can be that cold-hearted to drop that cute little puppy off," said Bernard. "I wish they would put a surveillance camera up at the dump to catch the people that are doing this."

Essig said a man found the Australian shepherd-mix puppies at a dumpster in Burnt Chimney. The puppies survived their ordeal and received vaccinations.

The staff at the Franklin County Humane Society dubbed them "the chocolate puppies." The staff gave them individual names because five of the pups have chocolate-colored fur and one is a solid chocolate color.

The puppies are named Godiva, Ghirardelli, Toblerone, Russell Stover, Goobers, Whitman, Willy Wonka and Chokito.

It is not just dogs that find their way to the Humane Society via a dumpster drop. People are just as likely to throw away cats or kittens.

An adult gray cat, now called Possum, was found at a dumpster in Ferrum. The domestic shorthaired cat was stuffed into a small crate with two other cats.

Essig said she did not think the abandonment of animals is an economic issue. Ten to 15 animals a month, sometimes more depending on the season, come to the Franklin County Humane Society via a dumpster site.

"I moved here in 1991 and that's why I got involved -- because I kept finding animals," recalled Essig. "It's not in just one area. Animals are abandoned at every dumpster site."

Essign said the Humane Society hopes that publicizing this issue will let people know there are better alternatives to abandonment. When people choose to abandon these animals, a cycle is perpetuated.

"The gentleman who found the chocolate pups saw a white dog in the distance and thought it might have been the mamma dog," Essig said. "So, we are not getting the opportunity to spay the mother dog and that means we may have another litter in six months."

Essig said there are alternatives to abandonment. Franklin County Animal Control is located south of Rocky Mount on U.S. 220 near the Franklin County landfill. The Franklin County Humane Society's Planned Pethood facility is a no-kill shelter. It also is located on U.S. 220, two miles north of Rocky Mount. There is no fee to leave an animal there, but there is a limited amount of space.

"We want people to call us to set up an appointment for us to examine the animals to make sure they are healthy and adoptable," explained Essig. "We don't have space for every animal, but if someone really can't keep an animal, we can often find foster homes until we can open a space up."

The Humane Society operates mostly on donations. Essig said the shelter always is in need of money for pet food, medicine and vet care and utilities. Donations also help provide low-cost spaying and neutering services. The Planned Pethood Clinic has provided more than 33,000 spay and neuters.

Food donations are welcome as well. If you are planning on donating food, the Planned Pethood Clinic in Rocky Mount uses Purina products. Essig said they like to keep the animals on a consistent diet.

The Clinic provided care for more than 835 animals last year. Essig said she hopes people will see the message and give animals a second change at becoming someone's loving pet by bringing them to the Planned Pethood Clinic and not a dumpster.

Franklin County Animal Shelter, 9246 Virgil Goode Highway, Rocky Mount, VA. 483-7440. www.franklincountyva.gov/animal-cont

Franklin County Humane Society's Planned Pethood Clinic and Adoption Center, 18401 Virgil Goode Highway Rocky Mount, VA. 489-3491. www.plannedpethoodrockymount.com