Surrendered dogs find loving homes|Editor note: The second installment of a series about 131 dogs that were surrendered to Beaufort County Animal Control and other organizations late last year continues in todays Washington Daily News. The series co
Published 12:40 am Tuesday, February 23, 2010
By By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY
Staff Writer
When Linda Poore returned to her Bath home in December from an errand in Washington, a black-and-brown Miniature Pinscher, named Tillie, was one of the first in the household to greet her.
Full of energy, Tillie jumped around the Poore living room until Poore sat on a small couch near the fireplace. Shortly after that, Tillie jumped in Poores lap and licked her face.
I think she likes it here, said Linda Poores husband, Larry, of their new charge.
Not far away on the outskirts of Washington, Maggie, a Maltese-Jack Russell terrier mixed breed, crawled into her blue-and-black-spotted dog bed to rest near her new owner, Sydney Gurkin, after several minutes of play with a small, stuffed animal.
Less than two months earlier, Tillie and Maggie were two of 131 dogs kept in cages at a suspected commercial dog-breeding operation, considered by some to be a puppy mill, near Edward.
Maggie loves to sit beside someone, said Sydneys mother, Melissa.
Tillie and Maggie have been given a chance at a new life by families who adopted them from the Betsy Bailey Nelson Animal Control Facility days after they were surrendered by their former owner, Dawn Austin.
Of the dogs surrendered in Nov. 2009, 41 were transferred to InnerBanks Canine Rescue, 34 were euthanized, 21 were reclaimed by their owners, 21 were rescued by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, one was lost at the site in Edward and the remainder were adopted by families like the Poores and the Gurkins.
A lover of Miniature Pinschers, also known as Min-Pins, Linda Poore had read about the dog surrender in the Daily News.
When a family member told her that one of the dogs was a Min-Pin, she stopped by the animal shelter to check it out.
She looked kind of rough, said Linda Poore. But she had the kindest eyes.
Ultimately, it was the Poores 6-month-old Min-Pin, Ginger, that had the final say in whether the family would adopt Tillie, believed to be about 1 1/2 years old. Linda Poore introduced the two at the animal shelter, and it was love at first sight, she said.
They are twice as much fun as one dog, said Larry Poore.
Since joining the Poore family, Tillie has begun to recover from some health issues, including a skin condition that was brought about by malnutrition. She takes vitamins and fish oil daily, in addition to a high-protein diet. She is showing signs of recovery.
Melissa Gurkin, a former volunteer at Beaufort Countys animal shelter, and Sydney Gurkin had gone to the animal shelter shortly after animal-control officers took possession of the dogs with the idea of volunteering or fostering a dog.
Then they encountered Maggie, believed to be about 2 years old.
She was coming from having a bath, said Melissa Gurkin. And she reached out and licked Sydney.
Sydney Gurkin, a sophomore at Washington High School, fell in love with the dog on the spot.
I took a half day off of work to adopt her, said Melissa Gurkin, a teachers assistant at Eastern Elementary School.
Melissa Gurkin arrived at the shelter at 12:30 p.m. on the Monday the dogs were first available for adoption 30 minutes before the shelter opened to ensure that her family would be able to adopt Maggie.
She was really sweet, Sydney said of her new dog, but she also said that it took Maggie a while to feel at ease in the Gurkin household.
And like Tillie, Maggie suffered from some health issues. At first, Maggie would not eat and suffered some digestive problems. On the advice of their veterinarian, the Gurkins fed Maggie a bland diet that included boiled chicken and rice, and they mixed yogurt into her dog food.
In recent weeks, Maggie has begun to put on weight and has grown more comfortable in her surroundings.
Most dogs like Tillie and Maggie that find themselves at the countys animal shelter are not lucky enough to find loving homes. Of 1,793 dogs and puppies taken in by the animal shelter in 2009, 578 were adopted, 174 were reclaimed by their owners and the others were euthanized.
Cinder, a small, black dog with curly hair, another of the surrendered animals, was lucky enough to find a loving home in Washington with Karen Tripp.
Tripp had recently lost one of her dogs to Addisons disease when she saw Cinder, believed to be a cross between a Maltese and a poodle, at Pamlico Animal Hospital.
Tripp immediately fell in love and wanted to adopt her.
But Cinder had been transferred to InnerBanks Canine Rescue, a local nonprofit group of concerned residents that found homes or rescue organizations for most of the surrendered dogs.
Tripp was one of five people who applied to InnerBanks to adopt Cinder.
In her application, Tripp wrote that she had already bought a pink-and-black halter top for her new charge. That purchase convinced InnerBanks that Tripp should have Cinder.
It was the halter top that brought Cinder to me, Tripp said. And then, she proceeded to chew through it.
Cinder, still somewhat fearful of people she does not know, fit right in with the Tripp household, which includes Penny, a 9-year-old poodle that was adopted and Mittens, a cat.
Shes like a little powder puff, Tripp said of Cinder.
For more information about adopting a dog, contact InnerBanks Canine Rescue by e-mail at innerbankscaninerescue.com or the Betsy Bailey Nelson Animal Control Facility at 252-946-4517.