Hark! CCHF & CCAS Need Your Support

Posted on Friday, October 08, 2010 by Bill McLean in Announcements, Clarke County Animal Shelter, History
Tags: Animal Shelter, CCAS, CCHF

The Clarke County Humane Foundation (“Foundation”) is probably unknown to most folks but you are probably very aware of its more well-known offspring, The Clarke County Animal Shelter (“Shelter”). This post will provide some background information about the Foundation and Shelter, along with pictures and profiles of pets awaiting adoption at the Shelter.

CCHF/CCAS – A Little History

In 2000, the Commonwealth of Virginia mandated certain standards for all county animal shelters. The Board of Supervisors at the time suggested that Supervisor Barbara Byrd put together a committee to study the feasibility of upgrading the Shelter to meet these standards. Barbara got together with Mrs. Stacy B. Lloyd, Mrs. Nancy Simpson, Mrs. Peggy Richardson/Cone, Mrs. Becky McCoy, Mrs. Leslie McLean, and Mr. George L. Ohrstrom II to form the Board of The Clarke County Humane Foundation.

Very quickly it became obvious that “upgrading” the existing shelter was impractical from either a construction or economic point of view, and we decided that we would try to raise the money to build a shelter that the Foundation would own, but that the County would staff and run. Becky, Nancy and Peggy were friends of Mrs. Betty Casey and they were successful when they asked her to donate ten acres of land to the Foundation. The land was a great starting point to get the Foundation up and running; it is close to both the County park and the County maintenance facility.

Mrs. Stacy B. Lloyd (known to many as “Vidy”) was the shining star of the campaign. Without her, we would never have gotten the Shelter built, and it’s only due to her legacy gift that we’ve been able to help the County staff it.

The Foundation and the Shelter offer spay/neuter programs, adoptions, rabies clinics, and other activities to raise awareness of animals. Most emphatically, they are not an animal rights organization like PETA; they are an animal welfare organization. They exist only to try to help the poor stray cats and dogs that are everywhere. They know the County isn’t able to run the Shelter as a no-kill shelter, but they do help the County keep the most adoptable animals for as long as possible.

The Foundation exists through private donations. It’s true that the County contributed money to the construction of the Shelter from the fund balance it had on hand to “upgrade” the old shelter, but since then the Foundation has made a very significant gift to the County of a yearly donation to help the County cover the employment expenses of the Shelter.

We will be having a joint fundraiser with the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center sometime this fall. We’ll keep you posted.

Volunteer Positions

Special Project Volunteers:

To assist with fund-raising events&em;lyard sales, pet adopters reunions, dog walk-a-thons, and information displays informing the public about the Shelter and Foundation goals.

Foster Care Volunteers:

Take pregnant or nursing cats or dogs out of the Shelter and into your home until the mother has weaned the babies and everyone is ready for adoption–or an injured pet needing a clean and quiet home to recover from surgery or an accident. The Foster Care Volunteer would get first option on adopting the fostered animals. All supplies would be the responsibility of the Foster Care Volunteer.

Kennel Attendant Volunteer:

Assist the Shelter in carrying out its mission to find good homes for unwanted, strays and surrendered animals. Help with the obedience training or socializing of the dogs to make them more adoptable. Help walk dogs or handle and pet cats. Help greet the public. Take pictures of the Shelter animals and update web pages. Help groom the Shelter animals. Help potential adopters visit with a pet of their choice. Help create and update Shelter newsletters. And always help clean the Shelter so the animals have a clean environment to stay in–a cleaner environment will attract more adopters.

Exclusion: Volunteers must not have any record of animal cruelty charges.

Benefits Volunteers Receive:

• Satisfaction in knowing you have helped the Shelter carry out its mission.
• Satisfaction in knowing you have helped an animal through hard times and have given it a place to heal.
• Satisfaction in knowing you have helped the animal become more adoptable.

Editor’s Note: Adopt A Pet

There is no greater love nor stronger bond than that offered by a homeless four-legged one to the two-legged one who offers them the peace, love and affection they yearn for. Consider adopting a pet. By clicking the “Continue Reading” link below, you may view this article in its entirety, including pictures and descriptions of cats and dogs available for adoption at the Clarke County Animal Shelter.

Clarke County Animal Shelter
225 Ramsburg Lane
Berryville, VA 22611
540-955-5104