THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411290096
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LINDA MCNATT
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
On the day before Thanksgiving, while other industrious homemakers in the county were baking for a big dinner the following day, I found Valerie Delgado in the kitchen of her Smithfield home baking - dog biscuits.
Oh, she wasn't planning to serve them to her family or anything. She was just getting ready for the Isle of Wight Humane Society's annual dog biscuit sale. She's chairing the sale this year.
That not only means that she will be baking the biscuits - tasty to dogs and humans alike, I'm told - at every opportunity. But she'll be encouraging other members of the local organization to do the same. The group hopes to sell lots of doggie treats. There's work to be done.
The biscuits are sold annually around Christmas. Have been for the last several years. And I can vouch for the fact that they are a doggie favorite. You know when you happen to own a dog who turns his pudgy nose up at Milkbones.
The biscuits are a nutritious blend of wheat flour, lard or bacon drippings, onion powder, garlic powder and a couple of secret ingredients. And they are a good source of fund-raising for the Humane Society.
I was prompted to look into this matter when a friend a week or so ago handed me a copy of the group's latest newsletter. That same friend wanted to know: ``What do they need money for? What do they do in this county?''
I guess that trend of thought is because the county actually supports the local animal shelter, located just across the street from the County Courthouse. A lot of people seem to have the same idea. What does this county need a Humane Society for?
I know, because I've worked with the small group before, that they actually accomplish a lot. I told my friend. Now, I'm telling you.
The local Humane Society in Isle of Wight frequently pays for spaying or neutering that potential adoptive pet owners can't afford, or the society pays for the procedure so that an especially nice pet will be more ``adoptable.''
Tamara Munford, president of the society, confirms that it also buys vaccines so that pets adopted from the local pound will have already had their first shots. The group has donated recently to the Duke University School of Veterinary Medicine.
When Hurricane Andrew struck in Florida a couple of years ago, the Isle of Wight Humane Society sent money for pet food and veterinary care for animals displaced by the storm.
The society has donated money towards the ``Dogs for the Deaf'' program, and it plans to offer an obedience school in the near future.
The group - only about 10 members strong - will be in the Smithfield Christmas Parade again this year.
``The few people we have work like Trojans,'' Munford said. ``We wouldn't have existed this long if we didn't have such good people. I just wish we could get a few more.''
Munford has other wishes as well. She wishes that local pets and pet owners would join the society in the parade. Again, to raise funds, they will be selling apple cider and hot chocolate while the Dec. 10 parade is going on. But they will also have a delegation marching in the parade.
If you'd like to join them, you're welcome - with or without an animal. Call Munford at 357-5691 if you want to participate. She needs to know by Friday so she can report the number of marchers to the parade committee.
If you'd like to march in the parade but don't have a pet, you can borrow one from Munford. When the woman says her house is a real zoo, she means it.
Here's the list: two orphaned goats, eight birds, four rabbits, three hamsters, fish, waterfrogs, three horses, several cats, a pig named Oreo, seven dogs and a partridge in a pear tree.
Just kidding about the partridge. 'Tis the season, you know.
Another Munford wish: she wishes folks would remember that the county does have a local pound. Many people, she said, don't even know it. And there are lots of really nice animals that go through there. Before you head to another city to purchase a pet or search newspaper ads or go to pet shops, she urges you to check the pound first.
One of the group's goals is to assist in enlarging our local pound. It has needed expanding and renovating for some time now, Munford said. If the Humane Society helps with the job, there's no way the county can drag its feet.
If you'd like to find out firsthand what the Isle of Wight Humane Society does, attend its meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Smithfield Library next Tuesday. If you're an animal lover, ya'll come.
Donations to help support all of these good works, of course, are welcome and can be sent to P.O. Box 274, Smithfield, Va. 23431.
And if you have a doggie who deserves a special treat for Christmas, pick up a bag of the society's biscuit treats at The Oaks Veterinary Clinic, Rogers Veterinary Clinic, the county pound, Farmer's Service and in Windsor at a couple of locations. Just check around.
Remember, it's for a good cause. They're homemade. And, hey, if you get really hungry, you can eat them. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LINDA McNATT
Valerie Delgado bakes dog biscuits for the Humane Society sale.
by CNB