staff@sterlingshelter.org
Our Homebound Hounds...
Homebound Hounds Rescue - a program our shelter started to rescue puppies from Death Row in KILL shelters in Virginia. The program started on July 5th, 2001.
These puppies are NOT coming from puppy mills OR backyard breeders. We do NOT buy these puppies...These puppies are not abused in anyway other than the fact that they were unwanted. These puppies are abandoned or left by their owners at the Southside SPCA in Meherrin, VA.
There are also several other shelters in Virginia who work with Southside to get their puppies transported to our shelter. Many of THESE other shelters ARE HIGH KILL shelters with low or no adoptions. These are also shelters that don't have the ability to spay or neuter the puppies before adoption. The shelter directors are mainly concerned with this problem and know that the majority of people who DO adopt puppies from them will NOT spay or neuter...which only adds to the already overburdened shelters. These puppies come from various Animal Control Facilities, several Town Pounds and many of the smaller Humane Societies.
The largest offenders of NOT spaying and neutering are the hunters in Virginia. The majority of hunters do not believe in spaying and neutering because they are hoping to produce more offspring for the following season. Many of these puppies are hound mixes, beagle mixes and tracking dogs...coonhounds, bluetick hounds, lab mixes. The hunting dogs are bred and trained to hunt deer, ducks, small animals and pheasant. There are also a large number of retriever mixes on our transports.
Our rescue pups are all mixed breed puppies that would otherwise be slated for death when the irresponsible owners turn the puppies loose in the woods or along the highways because they can't afford to feed them any longer and those puppies just won't hunt.
The hound mixes make excellent family dogs and do exceptionally well with the kids. Though they are somewhat stubborn...they are smart enough to know they are training you. They excel with crate training, lots of love and exercise and good food.
We hope your family will consider adopting ... One of Our Homebound Hounds...
There is an adoption fee for all VA pups which helps us cover their transportation (a 15 hour drive), vet fees, shots, fecal tests, rabies vaccine (12 weeks or older), Heartworm test if 6 months or older, their spay or neuter and their time at our shelter. You will also be provided with a leash, collar, ID tags and FREE follow-up physical with our participating vet!
Additionally, the Sterling Animal Shelter is donating $25 per animal BACK to the Southside SPCA from the adoption fee of any of their puppies coming to our shelter. The money is going to their organization to aid them in rebuilding their existing shelter that is desperately in need of repair, (See the letter below for more details) and faces being closed down.
Please fill out your adoption application prior to coming in and bring proof of home ownership (mortgage statement or water/sewer bill) to expedite your adoption. We have received hundreds of phone calls from anxiously awaiting families and we expect mass confusion. Please bear with us as we are still learning how to deal with so many people in such a short period.
Puppies rescued to date since July 15th is over 350!
A letter from the rescuers below:
“VIRGINIA'S HOMEBOUND HOUNDS”
The “Virginia Homebound Hounds”
as they are being called - are coming to you from the Southside SPCA in Meherrin,
Virginia. Our little critters come to us from several sources:
1.
The owners bring many of them to our shelter.
Before we agree to take them, we insist the mother be spayed (at
our cost) in order to
prevent the same thing again in 6 months.
2.
These adorable puppies and kittens are left at or in dumpsters or the
woods to fend for themselves. When
they are found, they are brought to us.
3.
A lot are left at the shelter after hours (in crates or thrown over the
fence), and greet us the following day when we arrive for work.
4.
We try to help other animal groups in our area whenever we can because we
are all overwhelmed by the great number of unwanted litters.
We try to save every puppy and
kitten we receive, and because of the people at Sterling Animal Shelter and all
of you wonderful animal lovers up North, they are now going to loving homes.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
The Southside SPCA serves a 12
county area in central, Southside Virginia.
We are a private, non-profit shelter, and we receive NO support from any
government agency (state, federal or local).
ALL OF OUR MONIES COME FROM INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS YOU.
Because of new state mandated
regulations, we must upgrade our shelter. When
our shelter was built 25 years ago, it was built to house approximately 120 dogs
and 30 cats. We now have
approximately 200 adult dogs and 40 cats. Since
we are a No-Kill shelter, we only euthanize if the animal has a terminal medical
problem or a serious behavior problem. We
are overcrowded! Many of our dogs
are in outside pens all year round. The
new regulations require that all animals be under roof and the temperature must
be regulated between 55 and 85 degrees.
This upgrade is going to cost us
over $500,000.
If we are not able to raise this money and do these renovations, we will
have no choice but to close our doors. This
would be a terrible tragedy!!
If each of you reading this would
send a donation (large or small), it will be greatly appreciated and will help
us to save our shelter. God bless
each of you and a huge thank you to everyone who has given one of our little
babies a home.
If you would like to send a
donation, the address is:
Southside SPCA
P. O. Box 66
Meherrin, VA 23954
If you would like to contact us for more information, write us at the above address or email us at: southsidespca@juno.com.
Sincerely,
Sandy Wyatt, President
Letters to our friends in Virginia from those who adopted their pet from Sterling:
Hello,
On December 29th we adopted a puppy from the Sterling Animal Shelter in Sterling
Ma. She was one of 29 puppies that arrived from Virginia. Our puppy (Maddie) was
12 weeks old and was with three other puppies that were classified as Black Lab,
Border Collie, Spaniel mix. She is completely black and looks more like a pure
bred lab. There were other black lab puppies but they were only 9 weeks old. She
has one identifying feature. Her tongue looks like something took a big bite out
of it on the right side. We have taken her to the vet and she is
healthy and doing well. Could you tell us any more about where she was found and
how she came to your shelter? Please be assured that Maddie has been a blessing
to our home. My 11 year old son was feeling very lonely with his older brother
and sister away at school. Maddie is his new best friend and we all love her
very much. Thank you for any information that you can provide on our new family
member. Doris Bertram- Morin
To the sterling animal shelter,
In September my family adopted a beautiful pointer mix puppy rescued on the Homebound Hounds Program. We named her Freckles because a couple of days after we got her she started getting brown spots all over her white fur. Her first Christmas went well, all though she did get scared of all the people around ( there was only a small accident on my shirt, but that's ok). She is getting along well with our other dog Blackie and cat Bubbles. She is treated very well she sleeps with me in my bed every night. I visit your website every week to check out all the dogs, and have recommended your shelter to many people. I can't believe how many people just leave their dogs behind it breaks my heart. I always get the family in front of the computer to see how cute the dogs are, in hopes we can someday help another homeless dog(or cat). Well I've probably bored you by now so I'll say good bye. Thanks for what you do for all those great dogs (and cats)! Leeanne P.
SANDY:
HI! MY NAME IS LISA DEMERS. I JUST ADOPTED ONE OF YOUR PUPPIES FROM
THE
STERLING ANIMAL SHELTER IN MASSACHUSETTS. IT'S A BOY! GUNTER HAGEN. HE'S
VERY SHY AND SKITTISH AROUND HUMANS, BUT WE FEEL WITH ALL THE LOVE AND ATTENTION
WE'LL BE GIVING HIM HE'LL COME AROUND. WE HAVE A 1 1/2 YEAR OLD SHELTIE WHOM
GUNTER ABSOLUTELY LOVES!! WE FEEL WITH SEBASTIAN'S SUPPORT AS A FRIEND AND
PLAYMATE TO GUNTER HE'LL COME AROUND NICELY. GUNTER HAS MADE THE LONG JOURNEY
FROM VIRGINIA TO MASSACHUSETTS AND NOW TO HIS "FOREVER HOME" IN NEW
HAMPSHIRE WHERE WE LIVE. WE APPLAUD YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
I WISH A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WOULD SIT BACK AND REALIZE WHAT THEY ARE DOING
TO THESE
POOR ANIMALS BY NOT BEING A "RESPONSIBLE" PET OWNER. IF I COULD I
WOULD ADOPT EVERYONE OF THESE POOR ANIMALS MYSELF, BUT UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T.
THANK YOU SANDY, AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. MAYBE SOME DAY WE WON'T HAVE
ANY MORE "KILL" SHELTERS AND MAYBE SOME DAY WE'LL HAVE
"RESPONSIBLE" PET OWNERS SO WE WILL NEVER HAVE AN ABANDONED ANIMAL ON
THE STREET AGAIN. WE CAN ONLY HOPE.
Lisa Demers
Merrimack, NH
Dear
Sandy, January 2, 2002
My 12 year old son and I had been looking for a dog/puppy for about 6 months.
We decided that a puppy would be better because of our 7 year old dog and
her accepting a new addition to the family. After all she really is the
boss. So after checking the web site at Sterling Animal Shelter we adopted
"Jake" on 12/5/01 from a litter of puppies brought up from VA when he
was only 8 weeks old and weighed 7lbs. We had to have a male because of
our female dog and luckily he was the only male in the litter because I never
could have made the decision which one to bring home. He's a
lab/beagle/mix and certainly high energy. Also very smart since he was
paper trained in just 2 days and sleeping through the night as well. Jake
gets along with everyone and every animal he comes in contact with. The
vet asked me if his tail ever stops wagging, and no it doesn't unless he's
asleep. He likes to chase our chickens and cats but I think it's just
being playful. I'm not sure the cats think so. Our older dog is
trying to accept him but it's taking time and l know it will all work out in
time. I keep telling her he's here to stay so let's get along. So to end this
note, I'd like to say thank you for our wonderful puppy and all of your hard
work transporting and finding good homes for them. He is so cute and so
much fun and sure seems to like it here. And yes, lots of work but
all worth it when I come home from work and he greets me with that cute little
face and wagging tail. We're going to fence in part of the yard for
him so hopefully by spring we won't need the leash much anymore. Sincerely,
Sandi and Billy Haley/Berlin MA
To-
Sandy Wyatt,
We adopted a shepherd-hound mix puppy from the Sterling Animal
Shelter on Sept. 22. He was approximately 12-14 weeks old. I don't
know if you remember him but he looks like a slender shepherd with hound ears.
We had been looking for a mixed breed puppy at our shelters with no luck
when my husband stumbled upon the website for the sterling shelter. We have
named him Harley and we picked him because he was a little older than the other
puppies there and he had a very confident, relaxed personality. He has
turned out to be a great addition to our family. He loves the kids, is
very gentle with them, and is fairly well behaved in the house, considering he
is a puppy. His housebreaking is going very smoothly and he has only had 2
accidents in the 3 weeks that we have had him. He is smart and very
eager to please. It's almost like he knows how lucky he is and is still on
his best behavior. He still is alittle anxious when I leave the room but I
know he has been through alot in his short life and needs to feel secure.
Rest assured that he is in a very loving home with a big fenced yard to play in
and 2 children for company. I only work part time so he is only left alone
for short periods of time. I hope you realize what good work you are
doing in giving these dogs a second chance at a decent life. I hate to
think what would have happened to this wonderful family dog if you hadn't taken
him in and worked so hard to find him a new home. Thank you for all your
hard work and dedication
Courtney French
Dear Sandy,
My name is Lynn Tonkin, and I live in Concord NH. Last Friday, my son Tye
(age 14) adopted one of the little puppies from Sterling Shelter in Mass that
you rescued! He is a beautiful little coon hound/shepherd puppy! We also
have a 3 year old dog that is a mix (golden/yellow lab/rodisian/shep) that is
150 pounds and was from a rescue shelter here in NH. His name is Tre and
he is soooo gentle with the new puppy. Tye named the puppy Kain. Tre
is very protective with Kain (although at times a bit short with him because he
follows him around and pesters him constantly). Kain sleeps with my son Tye
every night and Tye rushes home from school to play, walk and train him. Tye had
been wanting a little puppy for about 6 months. I don't know if you are
aware or not but here in New England, mixed puppies are VERY hard to come by.
Most shelters do not get any. So we were so excited when we found Sterling's web
site and discovered that there were puppies there. By coincidence, I was doing a
consulting job in Sterling last Friday, and went by and picked up Kain. Tye had
seen him on the web site in the
morning and he was just waiting for us when I arrived. Tye is sure this was all
"meant to be"! I can't tell you how happy my son was when I came home!
He wanted a dog that he could grow up with and take with him when he leaves home
as an adult. (Tre is the "family" dog and will never leave my home!).
Tye is wonderful with Kain. He is into martial arts and has a book written by
monks that teaches you how to train your puppy using gentle techniques. Kain is
responding very well. He is beautiful with a small tan spot over each eye! A few
days after the adoption we received a letter from a woman named Linda in
Bumpass, Va who shared the story of the rescue of 6 little shepard/hound pups.
We emailed her and found out that Kain was one of her crew. She was very happy
to hear our story. We are going to mail her pictures of Kain, Tye and
Kain's big brother Tre. Well, we just wanted to thank you so much for all that
you do. You have made one little boy very happy, one family happy, one BIG
dog happy (and two cats pretty unhappy! They still keep their distance although
one is starting to get a bit closer. ) Please thank everyone involved for us.
If you would like to see a "family photo" of Kain in his new
family/home, we would be happy to send one to the shelter. Let us know. We
are very grateful to all who made this possible for us. Tye specially
sends his thanks .
Blessed Be
Lynn
Sandy Wyatt,
My name is Kirk Paulson and I live in Massachusetts, two
little towns away to the west from Sterling MA,
where you sent a litter of Lab/Hounds rescued about twelve weeks ago, we were
told, from a dumpster, at about a week to two weeks in age. I hope this targets
the group from amongst the many you handle and try to save. My wife Eileen and I
just wanted you to know that one of those pups, has found a home with us. We
named him
Jefferson in honor of you and his home state. Because, after all, dogs are
smarter than people - most of them
don't have 9-5 jobs or mortgages, right? College loans and utility payments,
etc. - and NICER - don't see THEM driving airplanes into tall buildings - Our
previous dogs, Ed and Newt spanned the last twenty three years with us. Ed was
Eileen's first. Newt was our daughter Sarah's dog, a Lab/Rottie present to her
on my birthday 1990, an only child's companion for the summer after fifth grade,
Edison being 13 at the time and not much more in the mood for a ten year old's
antics, though he still liked being my morning walking buddy. We lost Ed in the
fall of '93. He had a stroke and went to his rest on his favorite couch, on our
porch, in the spot of sun that had always
warmed him on October afternoons. Newt came down with something cancerous in his
belly and had to be put down last spring, when he could no longer get himself
up, he'd become so bloated and weak. I hate cancer. It's taken too many of my
friends. So the summer was pretty lonely for me, not having a dog to walk in the
mornings, for the first time in 23 years, as I go out to pace the sunrise to get
my mind and day going, and for Eileen who really does have to have something to
mother and take care of to feel balanced, and I wasn't volunteering to let her
over-mother me. I'm too independent for that. But losing Newt put a hole in all
of us that we weren't ready to just
immediately fill in. Sarah's in college now and was away for the summer, so we
were also experiencing some of the freedom of the 'empty nest syndrome.' We
knew, after a couple of months, however, that we wanted another dog, a puppy,
(we're both teacher's and missed having someone at home to greet us at the end
of the day,) but then it was the figuring out the right time, and a house
breaking scheme, our time being scrambled in summer school, part time jobs and
social schedules, and coming up on the new school year. We decided it would be
best to wait until Sarah finished her summer Job on the Cape, and was planning
to be home for a week before starting back to her fourth year in school. That
way, for at least a week the puppy would have constant companionship and get
used to being a single dog running an entire household.
So we picked up Sarah on Sunday, September 9 and brought her home. We went after
school on Monday the 10th to the Sterling Animal Shelter, saw and were
immediately attracted to the two pairs of socks, the directional
tips and white blaze leading to the softest skin God ever created. Since we had
arrived from different directions in two cars. Eileen and Sarah took the puppy
and we caravanned home. Obviously we were all thinking about names,
but they were together and I was alone. The idea that he came from Virginia
stuck in all of our heads, being American history buffs. It was Sarah, when she
popped out of the car at home, who said, 'How do you feel about
Jefferson?' The dog's mixed breeding reminded us that's there's all kinds
of Jeffersons out there, and that, in general, we need to recognize the common
humanity that runs through all of us if we're going to survive as a world. So
Jefferson he became.
Having a new dog to love has helped ease the frustration of being helpless in
the face of the willful and determined madness that passed through Boston and
went visiting New York and Washington on the 11th.
So we've had him for three weeks now, he gets stronger and healthier every day,
is sleeping right now between bouts with his blanket, tennis balls, chew toys,
and the occasional shoe. He's very smart, has a penetrating gaze, is thoughtful
until his playfulness kicks in, and then he's a wonderfully funny wild dog. We
haven't quite got sleeping through the night worked out yet. He investigates
everything with his nose, more so than either of our other dogs and he's going
to have a hound's face. But the leaner, taller bones of his body suggest that
he'll be more lab behind his hound head, brain and nose. He loves galumpfing
around the yard and living room to chase the ball and bring it back. When we go
out walking he is constantly picking up sticks and carrying them proudly. In
short, he's brought dog joy back into our lives. And a new understanding of the
Declaration of Independence.
Not much else to say, except Thanks.
Yours,
Kirk, Eileen and Sarah Paulson
Rutland, Massachusetts
We wanted to write to you and let you
know that we adopted two hound/lab mix puppy's brother and sister that you
rescued and sent to the Sterling Animal Shelter. They have acclimated well
and just love their new home. They are loved so much by my husband and
myself, as well as, by our three children, two cats and older lab mix female dog
who is acting like mommy to them. Both are fattening up quite nicely, they
are such little piggy's... They love to play outside with balls and with each
other, they have the greatest personalities! Thanks for saving them and allowing
us the opportunity to show them what love and a good home is like. So far
I can tell you that they don't
seem to have any objections to all the attention/love/play etc. they are
getting, we named them Harley for the little girl and Chevy for the little boy.
These name seem to fit their personalities perfectly. We will send you
some pictures soon.
Best Regards,
Christine and Brian Hall
Hi,
I thought I would write you to inform
you that my family adopted one of the Virginia puppies. She is a shepard
mix and her name is C.J. She is a handful of work but its worth it. My old
dog passed away about
a week before we got C.J. It was just so empty in our house without a dog
around. So I convinced my dad to bring me to the vet to see the puppy ads
and they referred us to the Sterling Animal Shelter. After a long time of
working my ways with words, I finally convinced my mom that it would be good if
we got a new puppy and that I would take care of her. I can tell my mom is happy
we did and she loves C.J. just as much as the rest of us. C.J. is healthy
and energetic, she just went to her first vet appointment today and everything
went fine. She's about 13 weeks old and 20 pounds and doing great!
Just wanted to say thankyou for being involved with this program because every
puppy has the right to have a great life and that's why C.J. is here with my
family now. Thanks again. -The Landi's
Animal Shelter Inc.
17 Laurelwood Road
Sterling, MA 01564
phone (978)422-8585
fax (978)422-8574
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