Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 29, 1994 TAG: 9409290053
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The award will be presented Oct. 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the shelter at 102 Pulaski St. An open house and reception will follow.
The award gives formal recognition to localities that have met stringent requirements for the facility, which must have sanitary conditions and treat animals humanely. Inspectors from the department's Division of Animal Health conduct a formal evaluation and make unannounced follow-up visits.
"All of the credit for this award goes to Animal Control Officer Frank Havens because of his hard work, dedication and commitment to see that the animals receive a high standard of care. It's almost a 24 hour a day job the way he does it," said Jonny Butler, deputy chief of the Radford Police Department.
Havens recently received the Kent Robert Animal Control Officer of the Year Award from the Virginia Animal Control Association.
"We renovated an old sewage treatment plant and added another building to house dogs. We tried to construct it so we wouldn't be afraid for one of our own pets to be there," Butler said.
"We don't have a lot of strays and often the animals we pick up are somebody's pets. So we figured they should get the same kind of care we'd want one of our pets to get."
The awards program is resulting in higher adoption rated local pounds, said Barry Dawkins, the state animal welfare/car veterinarian at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
"As pounds come into compliance, we have noticed that disease problems have been reduced and adoption rates have picked up. People are now viewing shelters more as a place to adopt a pet rather than just a place where unwanted animals are euthanized," Dawkins said.
by CNB