With a wet kiss goodbye to Washington County-Johnson City Animal Shelter Director Debbie Dobbs, a temporarily unnamed mixed Shih Tzu was sent off for a last veterinarian check-up before leaving with her new owners.“I’m so happy for you,” Dobbs said to the little dog. “You’re going to have a great life.”The Honeycutts of Telford — Ray and Sandy — were the couple adopting the dog, one of 20 anonymously dropped at the shelter Tuesday before the staff arrived. They were excited at the chance to name the new member of their family, set to join forces with three other dogs they already owned.Dobbs offered her recommendation for naming the new pet.“I like to bring them home and wait and see their personality before naming them,” Dobbs said.Sandy Honeycutt said she and her husband found out about the mass dog dropoff in the newspaper Wednesday and after a quick family discussion, decided they wanted to help by taking in a new dog. Many of the dogs dropped off were malnourished and unclean, needing serious care and attention.“I felt sorry for them,” Honeycutt said. “I can’t believe people would treat animals that way.”Many locals, like the Honeycutts, and animal organizations responded with help. The Humane Society of Washington County sent out about five volunteers to help with bathing the dirty animals to make them suitable and desirable for adoption. Brother Wolf Animal Rescue of Asheville, N.C., picked up several pets to help alleviate the burden, as well rescue groups around Johnson City. The help of these groups has brought the number down to nine dogs as of Wednesday evening.Cindy Bolton, one of the board members with the county Humane Society came out as soon as she received an email early Wednesday about the dogs. She said it was all hands on deck to prep the dogs for adoption, talk to people, and answer any questions from potential adopters. “They’ve been in a bad situation and we want to make them feel comfortable and make things possible so they’re adoptable,” Bolton said.Lisa and George Light, of Elizabethton, both took a late lunch Wednesday so they could pop over to the shelter to adopt a new pet. The animal lovers said they already have three cats, three dogs and seven chickens, but having such a large amount of land, they were proud to help out by taking on another pet. They couldn’t just sit back and not do something to help out.“It’s a shame that they’re in that shape,” Lisa Light said. “It’s a good feeling for us, but it’s more for them.”They ended up going with a black and white Pomeranian Chihuahua mix. Like the Honeycutts, they were excited for their new dog to come home from the veterinarian so they could experience the personality and give a fitting name.Light’s co-worker, Tammy Smith, and her husband, Wayne, also went over on their lunch to adopt one of the dogs.Dobbs believes as much of a surprise as it was to have so many dogs in rough shape as were dropped off, there are a lot of positives to look at, too. For one, she was happy to see such a great response from the public, saying how busy the shelter had been, and also how it clearly improved the lives of the dogs. Many of the dogs were excited to see so many people in the shelter, potentially interested in adopting them, but some were stressed out, presumably because they came from such a rough background.Dobbs hopes the public will continue to help out with donations and funding to the shelter, which, she said, appreciates the overwhelming support from the area, and also help out with taking some of the remaining dogs home.Situations like this take an emotional toll on the employees of the shelter, Dobbs said, but takes pride in looking around and know that their hearts are in the right place.“We don’t do this for the money,” she said. “We do it for the love and compassion of the animals.”
from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed
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