HSYC In The News

The Mantle Piece
Take time to spay or neuter your animals, for gosh sakes!

By John Mantle Special to the Fort Mill Times

(Published December 19‚ 2002) - It's shaping up to be a pretty good Christmas for Dillon Parrish.

He's 4, cute as a button. He doesn't know it yet, but he's getting a new kitten, Mittens, a bundle of caramel-colored joy.

Dillon was at Fort Mill's Humane Society shelter Thursday afternoon with Emily, his mom. They were there to give a final nod of approval to the new family member.

So, $60 later--that includes neutering, all his shots, antibiotics and other medical treatment if he needs it, plus all the free advice you want--Mittens is off the hook. He's going to have a very good life, loved by an adoring family, and it's one less animal for the shelter staff to worry about.

That leaves another 54 cats, and about 120 dogs to care for. But don't think Mittens' cage will be empty for long. There are plenty of others to fill it; Janet Richardson, director of development, and Kathy Sowell, shelter director, can guarantee it.

Take your pick. You want a really nice cat? How about Lady, gray and white and plump? She was left homeless and stranded by a family who moved away.

Or maybe Newton, or TJ, both orange kittens? How about a beautiful black one, with just a touch of white? They all purr and nudge at the bars of their cages, on their best behavior. "Pick me, pick me--please," they seem to be saying.

You say a dog is more to your liking? No problem. How about Fudge, a chocolate and white collie mix, affable and gregarious, a perfect family dog that likes playing with his teddy bear? Or Bo-Bo, beige and white, friendly as can be? Perfect, in fact--except he has no tail.

It was shot off by an idiot with a .22.

Almost any breed you want is available at the society's shelter just past the BP station after the I-77 bridge, at 2036 Carolina Place.

There's even a good old boy in his own cage in back with a cardboard sign on it saying, "Dangerous! Peligro! Cuidado!"

He's been badly treated; you can still see the deeply indented marks on his muzzle where some animal abuser forcibly kept his mouth closed. He may be in a cage, but he's much better off now, being treated with kindness and love. He's one of the lucky ones.
Heck, I'd take every one of them home if I could. Every one. Empty the darn place out.

The Humane Society is a "no-kill" shelter, unlike the York County Animal Control unit that deals with unwanted, unclaimed animals by sticking them in a small cage and gassing them to death.
Animal control gets almost a half-million dollars' funding from York County each year. The Humane Society gets nothing. It's funded by donations, and right now it's scrambling to stay afloat.
If you want to help, send whatever you can afford to: The Humane Society of York County, 2036 Carolina Place, Fort Mill, SC 29708.

"When people lose their job," Kathy Sowell told me, "the first thing they can't buy is dog food or cat food, so they come to us to get rid of their animals."

People don't want to spay and neuter their animals. The Humane Society will do it for $37.50 per animal, a bargain compared with Charlotte prices. But people don't want to spend money, says Janet Richardson, so animals give birth to animals, who give birth to animals, who...

Most of them are unwanted and dumped.

The shelter has four paid employees at close to minimum wage. They are all confirmed animalholics, sometimes buying dog or cat food with their wages.

There's also a small army of volunteers. Art Corazza of Tega Cay, for instance, scours the area for junked computers, fixes them, restores them and passes them on to the society, either for its use or to be sold for donations.

Despite the financial crises and the constant worrying about the animals in her care, Janet Richardson says it's the best job she's ever had.

"I wake up each morning and know I can make a difference," she says.

If Mittens could talk, I'll bet he'd agree.

Editor's note: For our related story this week about the Humane Society of York County's need for assistance, see page 3A.

John Mantle is a novelist and former international journalist who lives in Fort Mill Township. He can be reached by email at mantle@fmtc.net.

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