**One Last Please for MASON WV Shelter Dogs***

[candi163]

There are stll about 45 dogs waiting for rescue.

These dogs have had a tough life while in this shelter. Most of them put in crates where they stayed with no human contact for months. Now they did clean the crates but all they did was pull the pans out from underneath the dogs without ever taking them out of their crates.

The conditions at the shelter were horrible, these guys really deserve a happy ending, they didn't ask for this life.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1039/1117191840_ef19e84b60_b.jpg

I have been to the shelter and interacted with a lot of the dogs if you have questions about any of them please let me know.

Also I am trying to foster and nurse Cocoa back to health but I think she has Sarcoptic Manage so I can not bring her into my home with my dogs. Does anyone know of a boarding facility that might be able to quarantine her? I am in the DC Metro area.

Here is the link to the remaining dogs. They have been doing a really good job of keeping the site updated.

http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=WV39&sort=&preview=1

I know there are so many pleas for help on this site but I am hopeful that my post might help just one dog make it out.


Thanks!

Candi
Owned by Bella and Gengis
Bella ~ Boxer ~ 1 Year
Genghis ~ Shih Tzu ~ 10 Years


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1162/907775340_9d373ad158_m.jpg

[candi163]

UPDATED+++++++++++

Now down to 36 here at Mason

[dukedogsmom]

Bless their hearts. I wish I could take them all. I couldn't work at a shelter. My heart would break daily. I don't know how you do it.

[candi163]

Only 19 left now!!!!!!!

[jennielynn1970]

Oh my... they don't keep them very long do they??? That page is so short! How sad! Do you know if ANY of them were adopted, or were they just PTS? Do you have any rescues that go in and pull dogs from there??

[cyber-sibes]

Do you have any rescues that go in and pull dogs from there??I was wondering the same thing. i know some of the rescues I've talked to will take dogs if the shelter contacts them. They can't accept dogs directly from owners (at least not in Ohio).
Poor babies, and God bless you for your efforts to help them find homes.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Just about broke my heart reading this.........

[jennielynn1970]

They just posted FIVE HUSKY MIX puppies.... poor things!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

The shelter that exploded literally with animals and humans inside, including a newsteam who was doing a story on their broken heating system when it exploded?
We had raised some $$ for them, they were working out of an unheated Butler Bldg. and truckloads of supplies were shipped to them.
Has this been posted to the rescue railroads?
The dogs and cats in Mason County can't seem to catch a break. The folks I worked with raising $$ (when there was an anonymous donor match) were beyond distraught. Have you been to their website? They needed everything.

This was the plea we put on my son's website for his Christmas presents that year:


Remember how cold it is currently in West Virginia. Until just recently, the animals were housed in a livestock barn without electricity, heat or running water. The latest updates provided December 10th, 2005 by Trish at CAWL states that they now have access to a trailor for cats and kittens and progress is being made connecting electricity for use in the barn and trailor both. Insulating has begun and there is even a movement out there to feature the shelter on television for the Extreme Make Over!

It's been suggested that we call our local Wall Marts and request that they add Mason's Shelter on their Donation List for the month of January (December's schedules for Donatons is closed now). This is something worth trying. Wall Mart does participate in assisting with specific causes. This is one they will most likely find worthy of participation.
ADDRESSES YOU NEED IN ORDER TO HELP:

PayPal button on our website
http://masoncounty.petfinder.com


Mailing address for checks:

Mason County Animal Welfare League, Inc.
PO BOX 285
Point Pleasant, WV 25550

Shipping address for donated supplies:

Mason County AWL
c/o Antharia/Jordan Dossett
9470 Annapolis Road, Suite 406
Lanham, MD 20706


CONTINUE TO CHECK THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE FOR CONSTANT UPDATES:

http://masoncounty.petfinder.com

[jennielynn1970]

Anyone know their hours? I have checked the site and can't find anything listed.

[Catty1]

Yes, it's the same place.

On their website: THIS IS NO LONGER A NO-KILL SHELTER

Updates:


Last week, control of a no-kill shelter in Mason County was turned over to county officials because it was operating at six times its capacity. More than 300 dogs lived there, and many were stacked in cages or tied up outside.


August 04, 2007

Mason set to take over animal shelter
# Some animals still need homes

By Alison Knezevich
Staff writer

Mason County commissioners will take over control of the county’s overcrowded animal shelter Aug. 15 after the shelter’s managers said they wouldn’t euthanize any animals.

On Thursday night, commissioners unanimously voted not to renew their contract with the Mason County Animal Shelter Group Inc., said County Commission President Rick Handley.

For about a year, the county had contracted with the group to manage the shelter. But the group’s no-kill policy had led to overcrowded and “very inhumane” conditions, he said.

More than 300 dogs and lived at the shelter, which was designed for no more than 50 animals. Last week, commissioners announced they would find a team of veterinarians to assess which animals at the county’s shelter should be euthanized and which can be adopted.

“We had no choice,” Handley said. “One hundred [animals] became ... 300.”

In May, representatives of the Humane Society of the United States visited the shelter and recommended that a team of veterinarians look at the situation and possibly use euthanasia to reduce overcrowding.

On Wednesday, Teresa Lynn Chagrin, an animal care and control specialist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, sent a letter to county commissioners urging them to follow the Humane Society’s recommendations.

“Animals are dying at [overcrowded] shelters, though not from painless injections given by shelter staff,” Chagrin wrote. “They are suffering slow, painful deaths every day...”

The county will hire two current shelter employees to manage the facility, Handley said.

Angela Roach, president of the Mason County Animal Shelter Group, said commissioners have ignored the Humane Society’s recommendations to provide more funding and improve the facility.

Since last week’s announcement about the impending euthanasia, hundreds of people have contacted the shelter to adopt animals, Roach said. “We’re down to about 130 dogs,” she said.

People from as far away as Minnesota and Maine want to adopt the animals, she said. Today , rescuers are scheduled to take 54 cats to North Carolina.

“We’ve been working really hard,” Roach said. “It’s just a matter now of getting them to all these different places.”


http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/070806-rutherford-localanimalshelter.html


Aug. 6, 2007

Rescue Me!
Broken Water Line, Sewage Adds New Hurdle for Mason County Shelter; Animals Standing in Green Sludge; Some Near Death; Adopt Now or They Die

By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer

Huntington, WV (HNN) – Another crisis threatens to bring a closure to an already struggling no-kill animal shelter in Mason County. Having recovered from a disastrous explosion, the shelter faces eviction and the mass murder of dogs and cats left behind.

Some of them, like the big Labradors and Shepherds have been waiting a year for their ‘forever home.’ Unless enough people adopt or rescue, they will soon be at the Rainbow Bridge (i.e. Pet Heaven).

According to an e-mail from Pat Van Osten, a dog rescuer in Roselle, Ilinois, “some county workers were filling in low places and crushed the sewer system. The workers have gone home leaving the mess.” Osten pleaded for assistance.”The dogs are standing in green sludge, covered with feces, urine, and blood.”

Some of the canines stand tied outdoors in the near 100 degree heat. “There is no clean water,” Osten said.

Sadly, the Mason County Commissioners do not plan on doing anything until Aug. 15. That’s when their extension runs out. When it does, the county plans to “take over and have a mass killing at the shelter.”

Representatives from the Humane Society of Parkersburg visited the shelter Saturday afternoon, Aug. 4, 2007 attempting to take pictures of the environment and animals on their cell phones.

[Catty1]

Info for rescues


Rescues/Adopters, IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: Because we are in transition and dogs are at different locations, there are different contacts depending on which dogs you're interested in. Please read below before you contact anyone.

New dogs are already coming into the shelter!
To contact the shelter regarding local adoptions, surrendering an animal, or to reach the dog warden, call: (304) 675-6458.
Please DO NOT use this number for the URGENT/SPONSORED dogs currently listed on Petfinder.

Rescues wishing to inquire about dogs that are NOT marked urgent or sponsored, please email us. New dogs that come in will have a date next to their name. That is the date they were posted to Petfinder, not necessarily the date of intake. All animal are considered urgent due to the county limit of 50 dogs and 36 cats at a time.

Long Distance Adopters, please email us with your city/state to see if we work with a rescue near you. Please put "adoption inquiry" in the subject line and include a link to the pet you're interested in adopting.

8/18 at 6:50 pm: 12 dogs from the overcrowding situation are still in need
Rescue/Adoption inquiries on those dogs (all are marked URGENT or SPONSORED): call Angela at 304-674-3085 or email [email protected]. This is the contact info ONLY for the dogs that were being crossposted as urgent/needing rescue for 8/18. If you pulled a dog in the urgent rescue effort, please contact Angela regarding covering the cost of any vetting that was done. They have many outstanding debts to be paid and are 501c3 non-profit. Please check out their listing on Guidestar to confirm non-profit status. (Search for Mason County Animal Shelter and the listing will come up under MASON COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER GROUPINC). PLEASE NOTE: This group no longer has any control over what happens to the dogs that are located in the shelter building, including the dogs currently being held for the court case.