Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
February 8, 2007 issue
Castoff Canines and Forgotten Felines Seek Homes
Story by Celeste von Mangan
They wait patiently in foster homes, or less patiently at the Watauga County Animal Control shelter. They search the crowds with their eyes every Saturday in front of Lowe’s Home Improvement Center in Boone, pleading for someone to adopt or foster them. “They” are the unwanted and abandoned castoff canines and forgotten felines of the High Country, desperately seeking forever homes.
The animal shelter fills up quickly and if it were not for High Country Friends for Life, a local rescue and foster group headed by Penny Lea Muller, many animals would be dead. Any dog or cat that is not adopted at the Lowe’s pet fair on Saturday between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. must return to the Animal Control facility and may be euthanized. Many beautiful pets are available for adoption on a continual basis from Animal Control and Friends for Life. Animals also are in need of foster care for a week or more at a time as it helps to save lives until an adoption goes through. Here’s a roundup of seven dogs and one cat in urgent need this month:
Princess: In foster care for many months, Princess is a purebred Australian Shepherd who was adopted and brought back to Friends for Life after the adoptive family’s landlord decided only dogs weighing up to 15 pounds could reside at his rental. “She is absolutely housebroken,” said foster mom Muller. “She must be with people though she is fine if left alone in the house. She has a noncontagious skin loss problem on her back, by her tail which will heal. We can help with medicine for the condition. She needs a foster home at the very least.”
Georgia: Picked up as a stray by Watauga Animal Control, Georgia is a German shepherd mix who is very smart and calm, walks on a leash and is good with other dogs, according to foster mom Joanne. She is a spayed adult and a special-needs dog because she requires a surgical procedure on her ears resulting from an ear infection that was left untreated.
Charlie: Charlie has been in the shelter system for four months. He is a black, neutered, 18-month-old Shar Pei, chow and flat-coated retriever mix. Charlie is housebroken and fine with cats and dogs, though he needs a home with a fenced yard or regular walks on the leash. His foster mom Dolly can attest to his good disposition.
Cleo: Another dog in the system for four months is Cleo, a neutered male, purebred walking tree hound. He is approximately two years old and is very sweet, loves people and speaks hound dog to them by barking and squealing. Cleo also likes to curl up and go to sleep next to or near people and other dogs.
Sadie: “If you want a hound without the noise, she’s the one!” said Dolly. “Sadie is a quiet hound which is very rare. She gets along with other dogs and with cats. She is a little timid but she has come out of her shell a lot.”
Hope: For 12 long months Hope has “hoped” she would find her forever home. Hope is a female, spayed black lab mix who loves people, though because of her size and strength, she must find a home where no children under age of 12 reside. She is currently in foster care.
Boxer Mix Puppy: Penny Muller is issuing a special plea for a special boxer mix puppy available for adoption who became ill while in foster care and recovered after a short stay at a veterinary hospital. His adoption fell through at the last minute, as did a foster home. The puppy will have to go back to the Animal Control shelter if no one adopts or fosters him. He is nine to ten weeks old and is brown and white. “He is a very, very cute little puppy,” said Muller. “We just want to get him into a home so he does not go back to Animal Control. He needs to be with a family.”
Omar: If you are looking for a Russian blue cat with Siamese blood, look no further. Omar is available for adoption. He is three years old and neutered. “Omar is a sweetheart,” said Charlotte Garrison of Friends for Life. “He was adopted but came back to us because he was placed in a home with young children and he needs a quieter situation. He slept in the 15-year-old’s bed, and we would like to find a home for him where there are no children under the age of 12.”
Impeccable Pooch Too, in Boone has provided grooming for many shelter animals free of charge. Everyone involved in the placement of these very special animals extends an invitation to the public to come out and meet the dogs and the cat profiled in this article, as well as others who are waiting for homes. The dogs are at Lowe’s Hardware in Boone on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and the cats are at the Watauga Humane Society’s spay and neuter building if the day is very cold; otherwise they too are at Lowe’s.
For more information or to adopt or foster a pet, call 828-297-6688 or Watauga County Animal Control at 828-262-1672.