Group donates masks for pet rescues
By Eric Klamut
Rocky Mount Telegram
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Members of the Rocky Mount Fire Department received a different kind of training session Wednesday morning.
Accustomed to undergoing exercises to save the lives of people who become victims of fires, firefighters were instructed on how to revive cats or dogs who – like Rocky Mount residents – can suffer from smoke inhalation during a fire.
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Telegram photo / Alan Campbell
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Masks were donated to the fire department by Friends of Rocky Mount Animals.
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Telegram photo / Alan Campbell
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Dr. Bob Cameron, left, of Riverside Veterinary Hospital, talks with Rocky Mount Fire Battalion Chief Keith McGee about the animal oxygen masks Wednesday at Rocky Mount Fire Department Station 6.
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Telegram photo / Alan Campbell
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Dr. Bob Cameron, left, of Riverside Veterinary Hospital, demonstrates the placement of an animal oxygen mask on Lainey, a long-haired dachshund, Wednesday with help from Animal Control Supervisor Jean Wood at Rocky Mount Fire Department Station 6.
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The department received an array of specialized oxygen masks donated by the group Friends of Rocky Mount Animals and was taught the proper use of the devices by Dr. Bob Cameron, a veterinarian at Riverside Veterinary Hospital.
"Pets are part of the family, and a lot of people value their pets very highly," Cameron said. "We train our firefighters well for human first-aid. But if there is an animal in the house that has smoke inhalation, we can treat them, too."
The masks varied in size from small to large and are designed to fit over a dog's nose or a cat's face.
Cameron said the masks also can be used to treat much smaller pets such as hampsters.
"(Smoke inhalation) affects animals just like people," he said.
Cameron fitted Lainey, a long-haired dachshund, with a mask and explained how to perform treatment.
Laura Gearhart, who heads the Friends of Rocky Mount Animals group, said she recently learned the department was not equipped with the specialized oxygen masks.
"It was brought to our attention that the department didn't have any," Gearhart said, adding the group was happy to donate equipment that could save animals in the future.
Rocky Mount Assistant Fire Chief David English said, on occasion, firefighters have found animals in burning structures.
"We have had situations where we have found animals after a search," English said. "This equipment will be a big benefit. We appreciate the help of the Friends of Rocky Mount Animals and Dr. Cameron."
In the past, English said, firefighters used modified human oxygen masks to assist animals suffering from smoke inhalation.
In addition to training the firefighters on the proper use of the masks, Cameron also explained how to perform CPR on a pet and properly muzzle a dog if needed during treatment.
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Group provides true friends to animals
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
From Staff Reports
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Contributed photo
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Friends of Rocky Mount Animals was established by Laura and Alex Gearhart in 2002 to help find homes for animals in local shelters.
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Laura Gearhart saw a need to help animals in local animal shelters find permanent homes.
So in 2002, she and her son Alex formed Friends of Rocky Mount Animals, a nonprofit animal rescue group.
"We approached the city of Rocky Mount Animal Control about allowing us to help with promoting their animals," she said. "Twice a week, a volunteer will go to the shelter, take pictures of the new arrivals and post them on their Petfinder Web site."
A volunteer relay transport was set up to help move the animals to safe havens. Animals pulled from various shelters are fostered in volunteers' homes until a loving "forever home" can be found, she said.
"All of our dogs live in our homes as part of our families, which helps give us more insight into their personalities to enable us to better match them with potential families," Gearhart said. "Our animals are fully vetted, including a general exam, dewormer, spayed or neutered, heartworm tested and put on heartworm and flea preventative and current on vaccines."
The group also set up a "Prevent-a-stray" program in 2007 to provide a reduced-cost spay/neuter program to help limit the number of unwanted animals in the area.
"We were also able to help set up a program that will enable the city Animal Shelter to enforce their mandatory spay ordinance for all females adopted from their shelter," Gearhart said. "We have been able to help about 150 animals since the program was established."
Another of the group's programs offers reduced-cost veterinary care in partnership with Countryside Vet Clinic. The group also sponsors a rabies clinic at the city Animal Shelter in May and August with Riverside Veterinary Clinic.
"In the six years we have been servicing the animals of this area, we have been able to help approximately 5,500 animals," Gearhart said. "We have been able to help seriously reduce the number of animals killed at the local shelter by increasing their adoption rate."
To volunteer to help, email the group at foranimals2002@aol.com. To make a tax-deductible donation, mail a check or money order to: Friends of Rocky Mount Animals, P.O. Box 4936, Rocky Mount, NC 27803.
"We function solely on donations; our two biggest needs are manpower and monetary donations," Gearhart said. "All of our donations are used to benefit the animals and without them we would not be able to continue to help the area animals."
To view any of the group's available animals, go to www.foranimalsnc.petfinder.com
"For those who have helped us in the past with manpower and with monetary donations, we and the area animals thank you," Gearhart said. "Without your support, we would not have been able to make the difference in the lives of the animals in this area."
07/24/2005
PET PALS
By Amanda Lingerfelt, Rocky Mount Telegram
As Laura Gearhart flipped through a book of animal photos, she said she can't believe the number of dogs her organization, Friends of Rocky Mount Animals, has saved since its start in 2002.
"What we've accomplished, I've never dreamt of in my wildest dreams," she said.
Gearhart said she estimates the organization has saved more then 2,600 dogs, finding them homes or reconnecting a lost dog with a previous owner.
Friends of Rocky Mount Animals is an organization dedicated to taking dogs out of the Rocky Mount Animal Shelter and finding them homes. Gearhart and volunteers take pictures of the shelter dogs and place them on Petfinder.com, a Web site that helps similar organizations across the nation.
Some volunteers also foster dogs, keeping them out of the shelter until a permanent home, or "forever home" as Gearhart calls it, can be found.
Once a suitable home is found for the dog, a trip is scheduled that involves picking up a dog from the shelter and moving it, courtesy of volunteers up and down the East Coast. Gearhart said her transports have moved dogs as far west as Illinois and as far north as Maine.
"We have drivers that are very dedicated," Gearhart said, "We make it happen because it has to happen. Trips can't be canceled, or dogs will die. Not everything you do in this world is life or death, but this is."
Gearhart keeps pictures of all of the dogs that have been in the shelter. She said she has about 12 to 15 books with about 100 pictures each in them. Some are success stories, with "adopted" written-under them. However, many more say "gone" underneath, a term Gearhart uses in place of "euthanized."
"It's not fair," said foster volunteer Engel Hicks, pointing to the book. "So manyof them were beautiful, kind. You can tell from their eyes that they were sweet, loving creatures."
Gearhart said she agrees with Hicks, calling saving dogs a battle to keep them from euthanization.
"It's either the gas chamber or me,"she said. "They have no reason to be in the shelter. They didn't ask to be born. They didn't ask to be dumped. People made the decision to do that."
But Gearhart and her volunteers work hard to keep dogs out of the shelter, she said. She has four foster parents in the area, one in Washington, D.C., three in New Jersey and she is getting one in Pennsylvania. The organization pays for the dogs' medical expenses, but the fosters are in charge of providing food, toys, training and other items, she said.
The group admits that fostering can sometimes be emotional. Hicks and another foster parent Marie Michl, will both be parting with their foster dogs soon.
"I'll be crying,"Michl said.
Gearhart said it is always hard to give a foster dog to its new owners, but admits that you can't keep every one.
"Most of us keep our first foster dog, but eventually you decide that you can't keep them all," she said. "Do you cry when you hand them off? Yes, because you bring these animals into your home. They're part of your family."
Gearhart visits the shelter once a week, corrdinates dog transports and checks references and home conditions of potential owners. She does not have another job, and said she is adding a volunteer to help her as a foster and intake coordinator.
"It will end up taking a part off my plate to keep me from crashing to the ground," she said.
Both Hicks and Michl have worked with other rescue services and said that Friends of Rocky Mount Animals is different. "I'd never been satisfied with any other organization that I belonged to because they put a lot of effort and money into saving a few dogs, while others that are equally deserving, or even more deserving in some case, end up being put to sleep," Hicks said. "Moving 2,600 dogs is due to Laura."
But Gearhart said she refuses to take credit for the dogs the group have saved.
Instead, she gives credit to her volunteers and foster parents, of which she says the organization is still in need of.
Hicks adds that money donations couldn't hurt the group either.
"The joke is that if we can make this much of a difference on a shoestring budget, just think how dangerous we could be if we had money," Gearhart said.
10/29/2004
New group saves pets from local shelter
By Dorothy Y. Lewis, Rocky Mount Telegram
A Twin Counties group is trying to prevent some furry friends from meeting an untimely death.
Laura Gearhart, 40, of Rocky Mount founded the organization, which is called the Mutt Strut for Homeless Pets, in 2002.
One of the purposes of the nonprofit group is to transport animals to private animal shelters nationwide where they will not be euthanized, Gearhart said.
"When we started two years ago, about 80 percent of the animals at the Rocky Mount shelter were being put down," she said. "Since we got involved, that number is down to about 50 percent."
Engel Hicks, 57, of Rocky Mount works with Gearhart to rescue the animals. Hicks said she will be rescuing about six dogs from the Rocky Mount Animal Shelter today.
"What I will do is get the dogs and drive them to Richmond, where they will be transferred to another driver," Hicks said.
The dogs Hicks rescues eventually will be delivered to a private shelter in Annandale, Va., where they will be adopted, Gearhart said.
"Our goal is to save as many lives as possible," said Gearhart, while holding her dog Samantha. Gearhart said she got Samantha from the Rocky Mount shelter about a year ago.
Gearhart takes pictures of the animals at the Rocky Mount shelter and lists them on a Web site, petfinders.com.
"We take the animals where there is a demand for them," Gearhart said.
The group also looks for people to foster animals, Hicks said.
Liz Tourish, 40, of Rocky Mount became a "foster parent" for Scrappy about a year ago.
"Scrappy was 6 weeks old when I got him, and he had a digestive problem, which meant he was not adoptable," Tourish said.
After Tourish became a "foster parent", she said it was impossible to let Scrappy go, so he became a part of the family.
The Rocky Mount Animal Shelter is conscientious about helping the group save animals' lives, Hicks said.
"It helps us save lives," said Jean Wood, Rocky Mount's animal control officer.
Animals have to be euthanized at the shelter to make space for new animals picked up by animal control officers, Hicks said.
"By transporting the animals to private shelters, we're effectively creating space so animals that have been in the shelter for a while won't have to be euthanized," Hicks said.
The group needs more volunteers to rescue animals, Hicks said.
"This is strictly volunteer work," she said. "This is a nonprofit group, so there is no reimbursement for gas or mileage, but we're rescuing lives. A lot of animals are in the pound not because of people problems, not because the animals have problems."
The Friends of Rocky Mount Animals and the City of Rocky Mount Animal Shelter will host 10 events from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1101 N. Church Street Nov. 6 to raise money for the group.
Some of the events include an animal dress-up, hot dog races and a costume contest.
A $5 entry fee will allow people to enter in all 10 events with their dogs.
On that day, the Rocky Mount shelter also will be open for pet adoptions.
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