DATE: Monday, November 10, 1997             TAG: 9711100062

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   74 lines

NORFOLK SPCA CONTINUES TO HELP SAVE ANIMALS, DESPITE LOSS OF CITY FUNDING

Dawn Cullop cupped the ``itty bitty'' buff-furred, black-eyed Chow-Labrador pup in the palm of one hand.

The puppy's eyes were barely open. He was cold and dazed. He'd been dropped twice on his head, according to the off-duty Norfolk officer who turned him over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Sept. 19.

The policeman said he'd found two boys taunting a pair of pit bulls with the 10-day-old orphan, Cullop recalls.

``He was angry,'' said Cullop. The officer said he was late for work, had radioed for backup to deal with the youths, then called out a heartfelt ``thank you'' over his shoulder as he headed out the door, she said.

The nameless man who rescued the puppy is a hero to the folks at the SPCA. They wish they knew his identity so they could thank him. And ``Kodiak'' the pup, who has been raised in the home of staff member Diane Getz, is ready for adoption.

``She brought him to me; he was scared, and I bottle-fed him for a week and a half,'' says Getz, cuddling the fat, docile pup. Getz has worked at the animal shelter for 12 years and has hand-raised more orphan animals than she can count.

Getz is part of a staff of 16 people supported by volunteers who provide shelter for homeless animals at the Norfolk SPCA.

So far this year, the SPCA has received more than $20,000 from United Way, twice the amount it got last year. Would-be donors to the animal shelter and to other nonprofit organizations not on United Way's list of 68 certified agencies must earmark funds for their favorite charity, something that's a growing trend, according to the United Way of South Hampton Roads.

In 1996, some $576,000 was designated by write-in for 424 agencies not on the list of United Way's certified organizations. That's a 65% increase in write-ins since 1990. The average gift for these non-United-Way-certified organizations was $160 last year and represented 6.1 percent of the total amount funneled through United Way.

To qualify to receive money through United Way, an agency must be a nonprofit, have a charitable purpose and a local presence.

This year is the SPCA's first year of operation without support from the local government. Until this year, the organization got funds from the city. But late last year, the city opened its own animal shelter.

At 105 years, the Norfolk SPCA is one of the oldest in the national network of autonomous shelters.

With the cooperation of area veterinarians, pets adopted through the society are eligible for reduced-price spaying and neutering. More financial support would provide the group the capability of offering the service in their own facility at 916 Ballentine Boulevard.

Of 1,200 animals who found homes through the Norfolk SPCA this year, 527 were spayed or neutered through this program.

Other services include low-cost obedience-training classes, grief support services, rabies clinics, summer camp for children, a ``Kind Club'' for kids, wildlife rehabilitation, cremation services and pet therapy in nursing homes and hospitals.

The Norfolk SPCA's staff hopes to find the police officer who rescued Kodiak. Cullop described him as a stocky black man of average height. She said he wore blue jeans, a white sweat shirt and a white baseball cap.

``He saved his life,'' said Getz.

She described her training techniques:

``I tell him `no' firmly. Then, if he doesn't stop what he's doing, I growl - just like a momma dog - and he stops.''

Getz hopes the pup she raised will find a good home. She thinks he would do best in a home with children age 10 and up. Kodiak loves other animals. He is partially paper-trained.

For more information, call the Norfolk SPCA at 622-3319. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot

Diane Getz holds Kodiak, a Labrador retriever-Chow puppy that was

brought to the Norfolk SPCA by a police officer who rescued him.

Some youngsters were using the puppy to tease some pit bulls. KEYWORDS: UNITED WAY NORFOLK SPCA

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