A month ago, I wrote an editorial for the News and Advance about putting a stake in the ground
suggesting that we all need to begin looking at how we take the area no kill. That it was no longer acceptable for pets to be killed just because there are too many or there is not enough space to hold them.
And so here we are. We find ourselves at a cross roads and we have decided it is time for this community to be a part of the solution and not allow the problem to continue to grow.
No Kill VA - “Road to No Kill” is the term we will be using as we begin to grow our programs to give assistance to not only Lynchburg residents and community members in other local counties, but also those in the more desperate regions of our state.
It isn’t the easy path to take but it is the right path and now is the time. We will lead the charge for this area and other communities across the state because it is the right thing to do, the lives of these pets dying in the state of Virginia need us. They need you. Do we have the time, money and manpower to do this? No we do not, we will need your help. Do we have experience and knowledge of how to do this? Yes, we have done it for Lynchburg Humane and we want to help the pets that aren’t fortunate enough to be in our city.
Programs such as more free and low cost spay/neuter for those high risk pets in the counties around us will make a difference. We have begun expanding our service area to Rockbridge County in Lexington, VA and we have applied for grants to help us pay for FREE spay/neuter for outside cats in Campbell County, Bedford and Rockbridge.
We will offer education and training for pet owners and other animal groups helping pets who are interested in learning and growing. We will be a resource for communities who are looking for operational, fundraising and general guidance as needed. So far this year, we have helped 11 other communities by being a mentor and a few of these communities we have been consulting with regularly.
We will help with transport and assistance when rural shelters need help. Counties like Wise, Alleghany, Scott and Russell are all situated in one of the highest euthanizing regions of our state. The only hope they have is to get the pets out of the shelter and into areas where they can get adopted. With our transport volunteers, like Bev and Jim Wisser, we help out these counties when they are at their highest red alert times. We have been able to help our local counties when needed such Bedford, Campbell County, Amherst and Appomattox when they ask for help.
We don’t want to take on the other communities responsibilities, we would like to offer help in order for them to solve the problems in their area and sometimes that takes resources, guidance, education and marketing. We want to give the other organizations the boost they need to stop the killing in their community.
All of this only works if those communities are seeking assistance and we have the resources to give it to them. Please take a moment and give to our Road to No Kill program. $89 will allow us to bring in a pet from another locality. $1,000 will help us provide an educational series and $5,000 will help us fix 90 pets for free. You can make a difference!
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| Only 14 days old when he arrived from Campbell County |
And so here we are. We find ourselves at a cross roads and we have decided it is time for this community to be a part of the solution and not allow the problem to continue to grow.
No Kill VA - “Road to No Kill” is the term we will be using as we begin to grow our programs to give assistance to not only Lynchburg residents and community members in other local counties, but also those in the more desperate regions of our state.
It isn’t the easy path to take but it is the right path and now is the time. We will lead the charge for this area and other communities across the state because it is the right thing to do, the lives of these pets dying in the state of Virginia need us. They need you. Do we have the time, money and manpower to do this? No we do not, we will need your help. Do we have experience and knowledge of how to do this? Yes, we have done it for Lynchburg Humane and we want to help the pets that aren’t fortunate enough to be in our city.
Programs such as more free and low cost spay/neuter for those high risk pets in the counties around us will make a difference. We have begun expanding our service area to Rockbridge County in Lexington, VA and we have applied for grants to help us pay for FREE spay/neuter for outside cats in Campbell County, Bedford and Rockbridge.
We will offer education and training for pet owners and other animal groups helping pets who are interested in learning and growing. We will be a resource for communities who are looking for operational, fundraising and general guidance as needed. So far this year, we have helped 11 other communities by being a mentor and a few of these communities we have been consulting with regularly.
We will help with transport and assistance when rural shelters need help. Counties like Wise, Alleghany, Scott and Russell are all situated in one of the highest euthanizing regions of our state. The only hope they have is to get the pets out of the shelter and into areas where they can get adopted. With our transport volunteers, like Bev and Jim Wisser, we help out these counties when they are at their highest red alert times. We have been able to help our local counties when needed such Bedford, Campbell County, Amherst and Appomattox when they ask for help.
We don’t want to take on the other communities responsibilities, we would like to offer help in order for them to solve the problems in their area and sometimes that takes resources, guidance, education and marketing. We want to give the other organizations the boost they need to stop the killing in their community.
All of this only works if those communities are seeking assistance and we have the resources to give it to them. Please take a moment and give to our Road to No Kill program. $89 will allow us to bring in a pet from another locality. $1,000 will help us provide an educational series and $5,000 will help us fix 90 pets for free. You can make a difference!
Thank you, Makena, and the dedicated LHS team for setting such a high bar for the protection of at-risk animals in Virginia. I applaud your efforts and am so very grateful that you are reaching out to help other shelters and communities!
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