Photo courtesy of Out of the Woods Rescue — River and his new owner play.

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

RESCUE IN THE ROCK

No party is planned for the third anniversary of Out of the Woods Animal Rescue of Arkansas.

“We have too much to do!” said president Kathy Woods, who founded the nonprofit in 2007 to help animals other shelters in the area could not.

“We don’t turn people down. That’s what sets us apart,” Woods said. “We’ll help anybody who’s willing to take on the responsibility for the animals they’ve taken in.”

Photo courtesy of Out of the Woods — Kathy Woods

The organization specializes in helping independent rescuers, providing discounted vet care, low-cost spay/neuter programs and financial help for emergencies.

“When you take in a dog, and it has a litter of puppies, that can be a lot of money,” Woods said. “We help.”

But altering pets is vital, she said. Besides paying for the procedures, Out of the Woods also partners with Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals, which provides free sterilizations for pets from limited-income families.

Out of the Woods has rescued or facilitated the rescue of at least 600 animals, Woods estimated.

“We’re averaging 25 adoptions a month, more than double what we adopted out last year,” she said.

The rescue has a network of volunteers who spread the word about pets who need homes and show animals for adoption at Premium Pet Products in Little Rock. Volunteers are there from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the second Saturday of every month.

Animal Planet shot footage last winter of an Out of the Woods rescue for Last Chance Highway, but decided to focus on another rescue organization.

“Every time I watch the show now,” Woods said. “I’m looking for one of our dogs.”

Last Chance Highway is an eight-part series focusing on animal rescuers Shelly Bookwalter and Kyle Peterson.

But as the national spotlight fades, Out of the Woods is honing the mission and the skills of its rescuers who attended the Animal Care Expo in May.

The event, sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States, brought 1,400 animal-welfare advocates from 44 countries to Nashville in May.

“We learned so much!” Woods said.

From refining the nonprofit’s name and punching up its logo to better articulating its mission, the people who run Out of the Woods are educating themselves in marketing, fundraising, emergency care, how to deal with animal hoarding and puppy mills.

The rescue is learning to adapt as county rescue grows more perilous with the faltering economy.

Volunteers find more dogs dumped on rural stretches of Arkansas roads as people can no longer afford to care for their animals.

“Many can’t afford to get their animals fixed,” Woods said. “And that is just the basic care required for a pet.”

Still, Out of the Woods is about showing compassion, for both animals and people, Woods said.

“We will help anybody willing to help animals,” she said.

One of Woods’ most memorable rescue dogs was black lab mix River, who was being hoarded in an Almira home 2 years ago.

“When I spotted River, he could hardly walk. Feet swollen, terrible case of mange, sores all over him,” Woods said. She thought he would have to be euthanized.

“But I knew we couldn’t leave him there,” she said.

He had so many medical problems, including the tick-born disease Ehrlichia, heart worms and the mange, that River became one of the most expensive dogs Woods had ever rescued. Long-term treatment cost about $1,000, after a hefty discount from Pinnacle Valley Animal Hospital in Little Rock.

“In the end, he found a home right here in Little Rock with a single girl who wasn’t looking for a black dog,” Woods said. “But I guess when she heard his story, it got to her. And when she met him that was it.”

River’s new owner is an outdoorswoman, taking River with her hiking and cycling.

“He has a truly wonderful life,” Woods said.

Out of the Woods has helped in many hoarding situations and with puppy mill busts.

“So many times we stick our necks out and don’t know how we’re going to do something,” Woods said. “We think we’re in a situation that’s bigger than us, but we just take it on and somehow it always works out.”

CINCINNATI — Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co. said Sunday it is voluntarily recalling two lots of Iams brand prescription renal dry cat food because it could be contaminated with salmonella.

The products are available by prescription through veterinary clinics.

No illnesses have been reported, but an FDA analysis identified positive results on two lots of Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal 5.5 lbs: numbers 01384174B4 0 19014 21405 1 and 01384174B2 0 19014 21405 1.

Codes are found in the lower right corner on the back of the bag.

Anyone owning the food should throw it out. Pets can become infected and people handling the dry pet food can become infected with salmonella as well if they do not wash their hands. Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, seniors and others with weakened immune systems.

Photo by Krisha Williams Turbeville

THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

About 100 people stood sweaty and eager to see a streak of black fur leap out of a concrete building Saturday morning. When the small metal door finally rattled open – nothing happened.

Then, just as some in the crowd started to lose hope, a black 2-year-old leopard named Spyke strode out of his den, pausing to stretch and scratch on the deck of his new home at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Founded in 1991, the refuge is home to lions, tigers, leopards and bears, most of which would have otherwise been euthanized. Its staff travels the country rescuing exotic animals that were not meant to be pets, according to its website.

Spyke surveyed the rows of onlookers’ cameras before taking tentative steps onto a new and strange surface – grass.

“He’s lived on concrete since before he was old enough to be held in your arms,” said Scott Smith, vice president of the refuge.

Spyke was the first of four leopards to be released into the new habitat built mostly by staff members and volunteers with donated money and materials, Smith said.

“We worked day and night,” he said.

In fact, workers were still putting on some finishing touches as the crowd started gathering around the outer fence that separates the public from the animal cages.

Imitating his smaller domesticated cousins, Spyke rubbed against his cage, as staff members scratched him through the openings in thefence. After about 50 feet, Spyke began alternately wallowing in the grass and marking it in separate patches.

Smith, who had promised patrons a show, bent over and showed the big cat his backside. Spyke took the bait and leaped at the cage, as Smith jumped out of the way.

Smith gave Spyke some time to run around his new cage, before moving the crowd to the adjacent cage, separated by a path to a new building. The other pen is home to Spyke’s parents: Santania, an Asian Spotted Leopard, and Zambo, a black leopard.

The pair were rescued from a private zoo in New York, Smith said, adding that the refuge staff didn’t know Santania was pregnant until about six weeks after the animals arrived at the refuge.

Tony LeCara and his wife, Carla Yager, of Houston were wrapping up their stay at the refuge the day Spyke was born. They decided to sponsor the cat and helped pay for his new home.

“It was serendipitous,” LeCara said.

LeCara said he and his wife decided to name the leopard after their house cat, who at 4 weeks old adopted them by appearing on their doorstep. He said the two cats are very similar in color and character, though there is a slight difference in their sizes.

Yager was given the honor of opening the gate to let Spyke into his new home, and the two watched as proud parents as he played.

“It’s amazing he finally has a place to run,” LeCara said.

Spyke is more playful than many of the refuge’s other tenants, which is probably because he was never abused, staff zoologist Emily McCormack said after the crowd had left on the half-mile guided tour.

McCormack said Spyke’s parents were fairly well taken care of at the private zoo, but many of the animals at the refuge have deformities because of improper care. Some of the animals have trouble walking because they were kept in small cages, malnourished or both.

Some of the animals have to have special meals and even laxatives because of their deformities, McCormack said, but even so, it’s easy to tell that the animals enjoy their new lives.

“Some of them, as our own vet says, ‘shouldn’t be as chubby,’” she said. “That just means they’re well-fed.”

McCormack said donations keep the refuge going. She said the refuge saves about $400,000 a year on food because it gets food from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tyson Foods.

ABC Block in Little Rock donated the blocks for the leopard’s building, McCormack said, but most of the other animals have dens made from concrete septic tanks, donated by Pile’s Concrete in Lowell. She said there are many others who donate, though there is a continuous need.

McCormack said the cage Spyke’s roommate, Vada, will be leaving will be vacant for only about five days, because of another rescue. She said the next project on the list is a bear enclosure because there is a pair waiting.

“If somebody donates, we’ll go buy the pipe and start drilling it because to see these cats get to be cats – sometimes for the first time in their life – it’s worth it,” McCormack said.

PHOTOS BY SUSAN LOESCH

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

RESCUE IN THE ROCK

What began with a phone call to Animal Planet ended in the rescue of 25 dogs, a raccoon, four cats and a horse when four central Arkansas rescue groups helped an overwhelmed El Paso woman.

Animal Planet Executive Producer Dan Jackson said the footage would premiere sometime in July on a new, as yet unnamed show.

“It will be about helping people who have too many animals,” Jackson said.

The woman’s friends called the cable network to find resources to care for the 30-plus animals on her property in the unincorporated White County community, Jackson said.

Two Animal Planet cameramen and a coordinator were at the residence of the woman who gave away her pets because she could no longer afford vet care or food, said Director of the Pulaski County Humane Society Kay Simpson.

“The (owner) cried and cried,” Simpson said. “She was a nice lady who got in over her head.”

Most of the animals were in good condition but needed preventative veterinary care, said Saline County Humane Society Director Ann Sanders.

Tinker, 1 1/2-year-old chihuahua with heart worms, was an exception. Receiving treatment at the Saline County shelter, she is the last adoptable dog of about 14 the shelter took in.

“She’s a sweet, little dog, but it’ll take longer to get her adopted because she’s heartworm-positive,” Sanders said.

The Pulaski County and Beebe humane societies took the rest of the dogs.

The raccoon went to the Pulaski County shelter’s special raccoon rehabilitator, who works with dozens of the nocturnal scavengers to ready them for release into the wild, Simpson said.

“When they’re released, they’ll come back every now and then to visit,” Simpson said.

A Palomino horse also went to the Pulaski County Humane Society.

“It’s doing wonderful,” Simpson said. “It’s a beautiful horse.”

A pot-bellied pig considered for rescue remained with its owner, she said, because it was elderly and no immediate arrangements for transfer could be made.

Though orderly and lasting a couple hours, the rescue was in a woodsy location, resulting in plenty of insect bites for rescuers.

“The Animal Planet people didn’t know what chiggers were,” Simpson said. “Well, they know what they are now!”

Feline Rescue and Rehome volunteers took four of the cats from the property, though a male, two females and two litters of kittens couldn’t be found and remain on the property until FURR can pick them up.

Lynne McAllester, president of FURR, had the four cats wormed, treated for fleas, altered and tested. All are available for adoption.

“They acted like they were in heaven, all cleaned up and well fed and safe,” McAllester said via email.

FURR volunteer Susan Loesch helped round up the cats.

“This was a necessary operation to improve the lives of both the animals and the owner, but it was somewhat sad,” Loesch said. “The animals were moved from a situation they are familiar with, and the lady gave up animals she loved.”

For information about these animals or to adopt, please contact The Humane Society of Pulaski County, The Humane Society of Saline County, the Beebe Humane Society or FURR.

To say Shana Garner has a soft spot for animals is an understatement.

Literally thousands of dogs owe their lives to her.

Relying on the generosity of donors, the help of some volunteers, cooperation with like-minded organizations and contracts with a few Arkansas towns, Garner operates a shelter/rescue operation out of her home on Oliver Springs Road, just outside Van Buren.

By her estimate, Garner has taken in around 1,000 animals in each of the last three years, and has found homes for most of them.

Garner said it is not unusual for her to have as many as 80 dogs – and a few cats – in her care. On a recent visit to her shelter there were about 50, and she was planning to take in another 14 animals.

These dogs are in addition to her own dogs. She said she has seven “inside” and an equal number that stay outdoors. Some she owned before she undertook her rescue work. Others are dogs she bonded with and could not bear to give up.

Garner provides the animals to shelters and organizations in remote states that are seeking dogs.

As difficult as it may seem in Arkansas, where pounds are filled and strays abound, some locations have a shortage of adoptable dogs. Strict laws on spaying and neutering have proven effective in reducing animals in places like Colorado, Minnesota and Connecticut.

Garner sends dogs in groups of up to 20 at a time to these locations, relying largely on the services of Save our Strays Inc., a nonprofit organization operating in Vian.

Founded by David and Connie Guthrie, Save our Strays also takes in unwanted animals and carries them to locations such as Boulder, Colo., where the Humane Society of Boulder Valley operates a highly successful pet adoption program.

Garner pays the transport cost, $20 per dog.

Before the animals can be transported, they must be ready for adoption. Garner sees that the animals are vaccinated, wormed and free of parasites.

Animals that need medical treatment get it. Garner uses the services of Hubbs Animal Clinic, where she said she gets good treatment – and credit. “I owe them more than most people do on their mortgage,” she said, often inviting potential donors to send a payment on her tab directly to the vet’s office.

(She adds that contributions, which are tax deductible, can also be sent to her at 2900 Oliver Springs Road, Van Buren, AR or over the Internet through Paypal, to shanagthatsme@yahoo.com.)

Garner said before she sends a pet out for adoption, she requires a guarantee an animal, if not adoptable, be returned to her.

The animals under Garner’s care get adequate food, exercise and loving, personal care. They also get a name.

“Every dog here has a name, and I know them all,” she said.

Everyone also gets as much personal attention as she can hand out. The slight, energetic woman regularly dispenses playful chatter, pats and belly rubs as she moves through the shelter.

She says she relies heavily on the work of Rhonda Ellis and Blake Corley, who come in five days a week, caring for the animals while she is at her own full-time job at Garner Abattoir and Meat Processing.

Much of her paycheck goes to food, vet supplies and other shelter expenses. She asks for payment from people who bring her animals – but admits she would probably take them regardless. She receives some donations of money and food.

Why does she do it?

Garner says it’s because otherwise the animals would die.

A pet lover from birth – a trait she said she inherited from her father – she said she cannot bear to see animals suffer mistreatment or die needlessly. But with shelters filled beyond capacity and resources strained, municipal shelters too often euthanize unclaimed animals.

She said most have a five-day period during which a stray is picked up and it is destroyed. By claiming the dogs, Garner offers the shelters an alternative – and the animals a chance at a satisfying and healthy life.

Garner said she doesn’t formally advertise her services, but she doesn’t need to. She said between referrals by local vets and shelters, word of mouth is sufficient. Not everyone calling wants to surrender a dog. Some are looking for a lost pet. Thankfully, others want to provide a home for one.

Garner said three years of rescue work are beginning to wear on her. She recently underwent neck surgery, only to find herself using her time off work to perform shelter business. Her phone is seldom silent.

She said she’d like to see Crawford County create a Humane Society chapter. She recently proposed that idea to the Crawford County Quorum Court. While reception was not enthusiastic, JPs did ask her to return with a plan. She also said JP Stanley Clark is helping her bring her message to the mayors of some of the communities where she is not already known.

Garner said a formal animal program would help spread the important message that owners should have their pets neutered or spayed. It could also help educate them on responsible pet ownership and care, and provide an outlet for addressing animal cruelty issues.

“I think it is a shame that it is 2010, and Van Buren does not have a Humane Society,” she said.

A Pulaski County Quorum Court committee wants Public Works Director Sherman Smith to study implementing a pet-licensing program to encourage people to spay and neuter animals in an effort to reduce strays in unincorporated areas and those being euthanized by North Little Rock.

Steve Goss, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he added the issue to the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting after a good friend who volunteers at the North Little Rock animal shelter at Burns Park lamented over how many animals were being euthanized there.

In 2009, North Little Rock’s animal shelter in Burns Park took in 1,863 dogs and 1,148 cats from North Little Rock, said Billy Grace, North Little Rock’s animal control director. Another 656 dogs and 116 cats were brought in from the county, for a total of 3,783 animals.

North Little Rock put down 873 dogs and 738 cats last year. The rest were reclaimed by owners or adopted. All pets must be spayed or neutered before being released by the shelter.

Pulaski County has no animal shelter and North Little Rock is the only municipality that will take in strays from the county.

Grace urged the committee to support a program for the county.

“We need a tool in place to stop – forgive me for saying, but that’s what it is – this mass slaughter of animals,” he said.

The county pays NorthLittle Rock $47.50 per stray picked up by a county animal services worker, Grace said.

There’s no charge for strays brought in by residents and the fee covers a five-day stay at the shelter. However, there’s no additional charge if animals are deemed suitable for adoption and stay at the facility longer, he said. After five days, animals that aren’t suitable for adoption can be euthanized.

Grace said that in North Little Rock, the city charges pet owners $5 to license a pet that is spayed or neutered and $30 for pets that have not had either procedure. If a pet owner gets the animal spayed or neutered and fitted with a tracking microchip there is no fee for the license, Grace said.

The shelter’s 2010 budget is $617,355 and includes a revenue projection of $75,000 from licenses and fees.

To have a program similar to North Little Rock’s, Smith roughly estimated that the county would have to hire three more employees – there are currently two animal-services workers – with salaries totaling about $150,000, and add three county vehicles to patrol and enforce such a program.

Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood said she plans to sponsor an ordinance that would create a licensing program. Justice of the Peace Patricia Dicker said she would co-sponsor the legislation.

In a letter, North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays also urged the committee to support such a measure.

“It is unfortunate that many people simply will not spay or neuter their pets unless they are given a reason to do so,” Hays said in the letter. The “animal license does just that. It rewards owners of sterilized pets and encourages owners of intact pets to have them altered in order to avoid the higher license fee.”

Grace said such a law would be worthwhile for the county. To illustrate his point, he told court members that a worker recently brought in a dog with a dozen puppies. At $47.50 each, that cost the county $617.50, he said.

“I researched nationwide and didn’t find a single jurisdiction that said this system did not work for reducing the number of strays,” Grace said, noting that North Little Rock studied having such a system before its animal shelter opened in 1999.

Smith said he planned to ask three questions of Arkansas county officials in his study:

Do you have a spay and neuter program?

Do you require a license for each animal?

Do you have an animal-services department?

“I know Jefferson County doesn’t and Saline County just started one recently,” he said. “As I understand it, the reason is that a small kid got mauled by dogs and residents demanded it.”

“We’re going to contact as many counties as we can and see how they handle their animal situation,” Smith said after the meeting.

He said there are obstacles to having such a plan in the county, though they can be overcome.

“In the city of Little Rock, which is 100 square miles, workers can just walk up and down a few blocks to check licenses,” he said.

“In the county, we have 22,000 homes over 560 square miles. Someone may have 80 acres and the dog could be running loose anywhere on those acres.”

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Three members of a family preparing to move from Port St. Lucie to North Carolina have been charged with packing more than 20 cats in poorly ventilated wooden boxes.

The new owner of a Port St. Lucie home spotted three wooden boxes stacked near her neighbor’s yard on Saturday. Animal control responded and freed several cats. Authorities say 34-year-old Jessica L. Eskew arrived in a van with dogs and cats inside. The van was towing an open trailer, which was carrying a wooden box with 20 more cats. Some of the cats were close to heat exhaustion.

Eskew’s parents, 59-year-old James F. Eskew and 56-year-old Shelia N. Eskew, arrived and all three were charged with felony animal cruelty.

A total of 32 cats and two dogs were taken by animal control officers.

For more than 37 years, the Hot Spring County 4-H Club and its members have sponsored an annual rabies vaccination clinic as a public service to aid Hot Spring County residents.

The Hot Spring County Extension Service, the Hot Spring County Department of Health and the Hot Spring County 4-H Clubs will host a countywide Rabies Vaccination Day on Saturday. Following is a schedule of vaccination times and sites:

• 7-7:20 a.m. – Calvary Baptist Church
• 7:30-7:50 a.m. – Donaldson Missionary Baptist Church
• 8-8:10 a.m. – Midway Community Center
• 8:20-8:40 a.m. – Kadis’ Corner, Friendship
• 9:05-9:30 a.m. – Crackerbox 43, Bismarck
• 9:40-10:05 a.m. – New DeRoche Community Center
• 10:15-10:30 a.m. – Social Hill Fire Department
• 10:40-11:05 a.m. – Oak Grove Store
• 11:20-11:50 a.m. – Rainbow Food Mart, Jones Mill
• 11:50-12:20 p.m. – Magnet Cove Elementary School
• 12:40-1 p.m. – Perla City Hall
• 1:15-1:30 p.m. – Gifford Elementary School
• 1:40-2:10 p.m. – The Corner Store at Glen Rose
• 2:30-3 p.m. – Kountry Korner One Stop (Lono)
• 3:20-3:40 p.m. – Teel’s Grocery & Hardware
• 4:05-4:35 p.m. – Hot Spring County Courthouse

For more information, call (501) 332-5267 or visit the extension office at 1415 Smith St. in Malvern.

ATLANTA — The number of cats and dogs put down at metro Atlanta animal shelters is rising amid sharp budget cuts.

The number of cats and dogs destroyed at animal shelters in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties has jumped 24 percent in the last two years. Those five core metro Atlanta counties killed almost 30,000 cats during that time.

Gwinnett County led the metro area with 7,588 dogs and cats put down in 2009. County officials say almost half of the animals were destroyed because the shelter could not house them.

Animal activists say adoption programs will never solve the problem. They advise animal owners to spay and neuter the animals to help control the population.

OCALA, Fla. — Hundreds of dead animals have been found at an Ocala-area home.

An official at the Marion County Animal Center says 348 dead animals, mostly just skeletal remains, were found across the property, as well as in cages, in feed bags and in plastic bags stuffed in the owner’s freezer. Another 375 animals were found alive but malnourished.

The live animals included 151 dogs and 156 birds as well as cattle, tortoises, cats, hamsters, sheep, horses, rabbits and lizards.

The 64-year-old owner of the property, who is licensed to sell exotic birds, was taken for a mental health evaluation and treatment after officials discovered the problem Thursday. He was living in a mobile home found littered with animal feces and human waste.

He’s not yet been charged with any wrongdoing.