I will start this blog of with this admission: I am a HUGE animal lover. I love all kids of animals and am a parent to three adorable puppies… Brinkley, Russert, and Jennings. They are my babies.
I love animals so much I have trouble even walking into the pound or SPCA because I want to save all the pets there. I have to turn away from the Humane Society TV ads with that sad folk song. I can tear up just looking at all those innocent sweet faces.
So, you can imagine how Scott Leamon’s story today impacted me. He outlined the kill rate at our local pound and the figures are staggering. Last year, 1,139 dogs and 3,432 cats were put down. Those percentages are some of the worst in the entire commonwealth. It’s heartbreaking.
As journalists we deal with many sad stories… the death of a baby, the body of a toddler found in a dump, a shooting massacre at Virginia Tech. I’m not comparing the death of a human to that of a dog or cat. I know there’s a difference. But, both bother me. It’s the loss of innocent life… needlessly. It’s depressing.
That sad Humane Society song has one lyric that goes, “In the arms of an angel, fly away from here, from this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear. You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie. You’re in the arms of an angel. May you find some comfort here.”
That line perfectly states how I feel about the almost 5,000 animals who died at the Roanoke pound last year. You are now an angel, looking down on us.
Sleep well.
Posted by Jay Warren at 10:50 PM. Filed under: main •
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Posted by ( anita ) on February 27, 2011 at 9:51 am
I know exactly how you feel. It why I decided to ‘pay back’ Angels of Assisi for helping me with one of our cats when we moved and took her in. They aren’t always rowing with both oars, but they ARE making a difference. THEY rescued 1580 dogs in the largest puppy mill raid in U.S history and had them all in homes in about 6 months. When Angels makes the news the SPCA gets most the donations, But Angels soldiers on. People think they are the same thing. They couldn’t be more wrong. Angels of Assisi is where Hope begins. The stories I could tell you would blow your mind.
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