Good News for Pets in Stokes County

We are very glad to read this but will not be happy until the number of animals that need to be destroyed approaches 0! Keep a look-out on the Stokes County facebook page or call the Stokes County Animal Shelter at the 336-994-2788 to help rescue these wonderful animals.

Animal Shelter Bans Gas Chamber
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BY AMANDA DODSON, THE STOKES NEWS
WXII12.com

STOKES COUNTY, N.C. - WXII12.com
It’s a good day for Stokes County animal advocates. As of August 27, the Animal Shelter in Germanton, off Sizemore Road, is no longer using the gas chamber to euthanize cats and dogs. The shelter has chosen what most believe to be the better alternative, lethal injection.
“I’m so proud of Stokes County because they’re placing value on our pets,” said Mona Triplett, head of the newly formed Stokes County Humane Society.
Triplett, who has been involved in animal rescue for over 10 years, has been waiting for this day to come. “Most people don’t realize how inhumane it is to put an animal in a gas chamber. In the past I’ve placed almost 98 percent of the animals I’ve rescued into loving homes, because they knew the tragic way these pets would be put down if they weren’t adopted.”
Phillip Hanby, the director of the Stokes County Animal Shelter says, “We knew eventually we would go to injections; it’s just taken time.”
With an average of 30 cats and dogs put down per week, Hanby admits that this has increased the workload for him and his staff, but “it’s something that needed to be done,” he says.
The United States Humane Society reports that six to eight million cats and dogs are placed in shelters every year. Nearly four million are euthanized. Hanby is working with local organizations, such as the Stokes County Humane Society and
Stokes County Animal Rescue to not only place adoptable pets but also to educate pet owners about having their pets spayed and neutered.
In an effort to euthanize less, Hanby has implemented a Stokes County Animal
Control website through Petfinder.com and a page on Facebook to promote their adoptable pets. “This has been a great tool for us. We’ve had calls from New
York to Pennsylvania that have resulted in adoptions,” he notes.
Triplett says, “The Animal Shelter is making great strides in the community.
We’re seeing a tremendous effort on their part.”
Triplett is actively involved as well. She oversees spay and neuter clinics throughout Stokes County. She also donates her time to “Helping Hands, Food for the Furry” Food and Supply Drive. This program prepares boxes of food and pet supplies to hand out to those who can no longer afford to properly care for their pets. Donations can be dropped off at three locations. The designated places are Pampered Pooch in King, the Stokes County Animal Shelter and the Animal Hospital of Walnut Cove.
States around the country are rethinking their pet welfare legislation. In April of 2009, seven states proposed a ban on carbon monoxide gas chambers as a form of euthanasia. Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina were on that list. NC Representative Cary Allred introduced
“Davie’s Law,” named after a puppy that survived a Davie County gas chamber and was later found in a nearby dumpster still alive.
According to Animal Law Coalition, the NC bill “was defeated and the legislation is dead for this session.”
States that have been successful in banning the gas chamber and implementing lethal injection are: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland,
New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming,
Connecticut and most recently, West Virginia and Illinois.
“That’s why this is such a victory for Stokes County,” says Triplett. “It’s not by law they had to shut this down. It was a choice, a very good one.”
For more information on the Stokes County Animal Shelter or for information on how to adopt a pet, visit http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NC505.html or call 336-994-2788.
This article appeared in Thursday's edition of the Stokes News.