Puppy love
Students adopt pets, volunteer at local SPCA
Posted on January 10, 2008
Stella Devine has it made.
The one-and-a-half year old sheltie/beagle mix has a bowl full of food, a cozy bed to sleep in, an abundance of chew toys and an adoring owner who takes her on daily walks.
Looking at the happy and healthy copper-colored dog, one would never guess that her life started on a negative note. Born a stray, she spent her first few weeks living on the streets with her mother and seven siblings. She was eventually turned into the Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA, where her current owner, senior Katelyn Devine, fell in love with her.
“I loved her markings and colorings, like the white spot on her head or her little white paws,” Devine said. “She was just so cute!”
Devine also liked that she found Stella at the SPCA, as opposed to at an animal breeder’s.
“My family’s always gotten pets from shelters,” she said. “I’ve always liked the idea of helping a pet that otherwise wouldn’t have a home.”
This idea appeals to others living in the Harrisonburg area. In 2007, the Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA found homes for more of their animals than in any other previous year. A record number 872 dogs, 485 cats and 93 rodents were either adopted by a new family or reclaimed by owners who lost them. The SPCA staff partially credits this success to increased donations that helped them keep the animals healthier.
“When animals are healthier they’re more likely to get adopted,” said Anne Anderson, the shelter’s executive director.
Despite the increase in adoptions, the shelter still had to put down 2, 940 animals in 2007.
Devine has no regrets about adopting Stella, but she does admit that balancing school and a pet can be difficult. Her student teaching schedule requires her to take Stella for her morning walk at 6:50 a.m.
“If I wasn’t completely devoted to her, it wouldn’t work,” Devine said. “A lot of people don’t think about all the work, so they end up taking the animal back and that defeats the point of adoption.”
Many students who want to help but cannot currently adopt a pet participate in the the SPCA a year ago and now works as a part-time employee.
“At the time, I couldn’t have a dog and it gave me a way to interact with dogs on a regular basis,” Wood said. “Plus, I loved seeing how happy the dogs were to go out on walks.”
In addition to brightening their day, human interaction helps the animals become comfortable with human contact which greatly increases their odds of being adopted.
