Exciting News and Looking Forward

CVAS is happy to announce that it now owns the land on which it is situated. Through a very generous donation of an estate, from a woman who genuinely cared about what happened to the animals in our county, we were finally able to purchase the property. We can now move forward and look to the future. We have big dreams and goals for the Sanctuary and now we can begin to make them a reality. We will begin by raising the money to build our dogs a new indoor/outdoor kennel where they will be warm and comfortable all year round!

But in order to move forward in an effective and positive way, CVAS will need assistance. Namely, we need members.

We are in need of like-minded, caring people interested in the welfare of the animals in our county. New ideas and suggestions and involvement will help to ensure that CVAS is here for years to come, rescuing the companion animals of Stevens County, and providing them with a safe haven.

On 5/15/13 CVAS held its first membership meeting. This was not advertised due to so many projects going on at the shelter which demanded many time constraints for volunteers and staff. We had a small but enthusiastic turnout and gained a few new members!

At this first meeting we were able to play our new PowerPoint presentation that was put together for us by Sydney Wood, one of our great high school volunteers. The beautiful song that plays with this presentation was written for us by Bonnie Lambert. We were so thrilled with it! We now can give well presented, beautiful and compelling presentations as we start fundraising for our new kennels. Thank you so much Sydney and Bonnie.

We’ve added a membership page on our website along with a membership form. To be a member, the interested person would need to attend 3 out of the 4 yearly meetings. There is also an annual membership dues of $12.00 a year. Visit our membership page if you are interested in becoming a part of our organization in an effort to better help the companion animals of Stevens County.

Our next membership meeting will be in August. We will publish the exact date next month. There will be a barbeque!

We would like to thank everyone who signed up to be a member at our last meeting, these are exciting times and the work is just beginning!

Special Visitors

This week we were visited by approx. 60 children, along with their teachers – the Kindergarten classes from Kettle Falls Elementary. What a great group of kids! They came to meet some of our dogs and to learn how they could best help homeless dogs and cats in their own community. As part of their ‘end of the year’ project, they came and met 4 of our dogs, asked questions and took notes which they will use to write stories about the dogs – something along the lines of “Adopt Me” stories.

Nancy brought 4 of our dogs into our new, but ‘not quite finished’ puppy cabin, where the children could meet the dogs, learn about them from Nancy, and ask questions.

We think the kids enjoyed their visit and also learned alot about how they can help animals in their own community. We hope we’ll get the chance to read some of their stories! We’ll try and share some with you here. Thank you to the children and teachers from the Kindergarden classes of Kettle Falls Elementary. We enjoyed your visit!

Rescuers Still in Waiting – Dog Pays the Price

Last Friday, May 3rd, I came upon a horrifying act of animal cruelty.  I volunteer at the Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary and as I was driving down my private road, I saw a hunting dog walking towards me with his head hanging to one side and moving with a stumbling gait.  Recognizing that the dog was injured, I stopped my car and approached him.  Even though he must have been in terrible pain from a badly infected head injury, he came towards me and let me gently lift him into the back of my car without any aggressive behavior. After an examination at Colville Animal Hospital, I was told he had been shot.  There was extensive damage and they did not feel that he would be able to live a normal life even with expensive treatment. He was humanely euthanized. That evening my neighbors told me that on Monday, April 29th, they had heard a gunshot followed by a dog’s scream on the hill behind our homes. That means that this dog lived in agony for four days before I found it.

In an article in the Spokesman Review on January 27 -  about the absence in Stevens County of any county-wide animal control – entitled, “Rescuers in Waiting”, Commissioner Don Dashiell is quoted as saying, “Eighty percent of this county never calls the sheriff for animal control issues.  They handle it themselves.”  He goes on to say that the animals are often “terminated somehow” by county citizens when there is an issue.  Although most residents of our community pride themselves on safe and responsible gun use and would track a wounded deer’s blood-trail to humanely finish the hunt, some scoundrel did not give this dog that humane service.

It was apparent to me during my time with the dog that he was not a threat to me.  Was he a chicken killer?  Was he lost or dumped (which happens all too often) and wandered onto someone’s property?  Did someone have too many dogs?  For none of these reasons would the dog have had to be exterminated.  The Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary would have been happy to take this dog in, and find him a suitable home.

In his Prosecutor’s Corner article of March 13, Stevens County Prosecuting Attorney, Tim Rasmussen writes, “It is odd to me that we hear more about the ethical treatment of animals than we hear about the ethical treatment of children.”  Could it be, Mr. Rasmussen, that is because there are dozens of county and state employees and probably millions of dollars at work in this county doing the hugely important job of protecting children.  As a former CASA volunteer, I know there are also dozens of volunteers. But, how many dollars and employees are there in this county to prevent cruelty to animals?  Very few.

I have a lot of respect for our county commissions and how difficult it is for them to balance the budget every year.  Perhaps they need to hear, though, in a calm and rational way from those of us who would like to see some county dollars going to provide for animal rescue.

Meanwhile, volunteers and donations are greatly needed at the Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary where 150 dogs and 620 cats were rescued in 2012, and we expect to break those numbers in 2013.

Pam Smith

—————————————————————

Here is some contact information.

Stevens County Government website: http://www.co.stevens.wa.us/

County Commissioners
District 1 -  Wes McCart - Vice President
District 2 - Don Dashiell - Chairman
District 3 - Steve Parker

Phone# 509-684-3751
Fax# 509-684-8310    
Location - Old AVISTA building - 230 E. Birch Street  Colville, Wa.  99114

Email address: Commissioners@co.stevens.wa.us

What a Lucky Boy

This handsome sweet boy is Grady. You couldn’t ask for a more affectionate sweet kitty. And if Grady could talk, he would have quite a story to tell!

We first learned about Grady when one of our FaceBook fans, Casey Taylor, contacted us. She told us that there was a totally ‘skin-and-bones’ thin kitty hanging around her home. Lorraine, one of our volunteers, spoke with Casey and then went and picked the kitty up. She took him to her house where she immediately began offering him canned food. Grady was happy to see the food and would try to eat, but would back away, crying in pain after just a mouthful! Lorraine took him to Dr. Rowe, a wonderful vet who works for the Spokane Humane society. Dr. Rowe discovered that Grady’s teeth were all horribly infected and his mouth was full of ulcers! He was literally starving to death, even when food was available, because it hurt too much to eat! Dr. Rowe did a wonderful job on Grady’s teeth. Unfortunately all of Grady’s teeth, except for his 4 canine teeth, had to be extracted and he was kept at the clinic for several days receiving antibiotics, fluids and food when he could eat again.

After 10 days on antibiotics, and can-after-can of food, Grady is filling up and out! He is such a gentle, sweet, purring, loving boy! Grady will need a special “indoor-only” home with a loving owner willing to feed him canned food, very possibly for the rest of his life. We Guesstimate that he is 7-8 years old. The vet does not think he is a senior. Please give us a call if you can offer Grady a pampered and loving “indoor only” home, after what he has been through, he sure deserves to live the pampered life!

Give us a call at: 509-684-1475