One of the sick dogs a Boxer Mix found a foster home (Photo by Tom Hindman)
Not everything you see online is fact. Sometimes in order to find out the real truth you need to do your own investigative work. Like in this case where it was said 21 cats and dogs would be Euthanized today due to the shelter’s inability to cover the cost of medical treatment for the animals. It is true that the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association in West Virginia does not have the budget to treat sick animals and it is true that there were a number of animals in their care suspected of having Kennel Cough it wasn’t 21 dogs and cats in fact no cats were showing any sign of the disease.
The rumor mill did however have people calling to find out if they could foster to adopt the sick dogs. The dogs had to go into foster homes before they can be officially adopted because they have not yet been spayed or neutered. Before sending the dogs out to foster homes several important things had to be in place. The foster home had to be free of other animals so no cross contamination could happen while the dogs recovered. The foster homes had to agree to take the dogs to the vet for confirmation of the diagnosis and cover the expense as well as give the dogs the medication they need each day. I think it is commendable that the shelter management not only care about the dogs in their care enough to make sure that they would be receiving treatment but to make sure no other animals would be exposed to the disease while the dogs recovered.
As of Monday evening only three sick dogs remained at the shelter: a Cairn terrier mix, a beagle-Jack Russell mix and a “West Virginia brown dog” puppy according to the Charleston Daily Mail. The shelter has said the dogs do need to find foster homes but that they are hopeful that people will come forward today to take these dogs in and help them get better. They are not in immediate danger of being euthanized but at the same time the shelter cannot risk exposure to the rest of the animal population in their care. Management hopes that the dogs that were picked up yesterday are all on the foster to adopt plan.
