News Briefs Sharing news and information in the West Virginia animal welfare community Spring 2014 INSIDE Status of S/N Funding.... p. 2 Powerpoints online....... p. 2 Sponsors.............. p. 2 Conference Awards...... p. 3 Conference Attendee List.. p. 4 Your help needed: Euthanasia stats and puppy mill registration..... p. 5 Conference collage....... p. 6 E-mail: info@fohowv.org www.fohowv.org Promoting animal welfare throughout WV. www.snapwv.org Spay Neuter Assistance Program WV website. Lists spay neuter grant allocation in WV. News Briefs is a publication of the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia, P. O. Box 686, Elkins, WV 26241. All rights reserved. Publication design by Barbara PHOTO AT LEFT: At long last! Conference organizers Betty Burkett, Steve Tennant, Jo Statts, and Sis Bruner take a moment to relax during the April 2014 FOHO WV Conference on Animals in Flatwoods. Not too bad for 20 years work! From FOHO WV President, Betty Burkett As the old saying goes, How time flies when you re having fun. Time does indeed fly. It is hard to believe that FOHO WV has been around for 20 years. 20 YEARS! We have come a long way since we started back in Wheeling after a seminar on pet overpopulation. I had seen an article in one of my animal magazines by Kim Sturla from The Fund for Animals in California. She was offering to come and present a talk for free to any group in the US. After talking with members of my humane society, the Marshall County Animal Rescue League, I contacted her and she walked me through how to set up a seminar; then she flew here and didn t charge us a penny. We also had Esther Mechler from Spay USA and several representatives from The Humane Society of the United States and the Doris Day Animal League, among others. I was expecting about 25 people to attend and was extremely surprised and thrilled when we had over 100 attendees. Following this 2-day seminar, FOHO WV was born. We have had a lot of fun, but we have had some pretty rough bumps, too. We are very proud of the progress that has been made in animal welfare in West Virginia with our help. When I say our help, I mean everyone, all of you out there who have been working in your own areas around the state to bring West Virginia into the 21st century for the animals. You all know it is hard work and sometimes time doesn t fly, it creeps along like molasses. But with all of us working together, we have accomplished a lot; and with your support, we will keep working to make even more progress. This edition of the e-newsletter has a lot of great info about our recent Conference on Animals held on April 11 and 12. The attendance was (President, continued on p. 4) FOHO WV Spring 2014-1
Status of the Spay Neuter Assistance Fund Sponsors Our conference would not have been possible without the assistance of our sponsors. They not only provided financial assistance but also sent representatives and materials for door prizes. The ASPCA sent Michael Barrett, Vice President of Grants, who presented a very well received session on seeking grant funding. Lisa Star, also from ASPCA, offered an informative session on hoarding. After the Spay Neuter Assistance Fund law was passed this legislative session, three FOHO board members (Betty Burkett, Sylvia Shafer, and Steve Tennant) and Michael Barrett, a representative of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, met with Department of Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick, since the fund will be administered by the Agriculture Department. We discussed ways to raise money for the fund and talked about ideas on how the fund should work. Commissioner Helmick appointed the three FOHO board members and Michael Barrett to promulgate the rules required for the fund. The group worked for several months to get the rules completed and presented them to the Agriculture Department. The rules have now been sent on to the Secretary of State s Office to be posted for 30 days for public comment. This had to be done by the July 2 deadline in order to meet the 30-day comment period deadline of August 2. Then they will be sent back to Agriculture to address any comments. We had hoped the rules might be passed during an interim session of the legislature but the likelihood of that happening is not very high. We may have to wait until the 2015 legislative session. However, we are happy that things are finally moving forward. HSUS provided funding for our law books, which were given out at the conference to attendees. In addition, HSUS sent Tara Loller, Puppy Mill Implementation Coordinator, to present a session on West Virginia's new puppy mill law. She was assisted by the WV Director for HSUS, Summer Wyatt. Department of Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick addressed the FOHO WV Conference on Animals Saturday morning. Along with all conference participants, he was presented with a copy of Answers about Pets from the Bible by Bless the Pets outreach of the Greater Clarksburg Evangelistic Association. Conference Powerpoints Online at fohowv.org Fundamentals for the Twenty-First Century Grant Seeker, presented by Michael Barrett, ASPCA Is my neighbor a hoarder? presented by Lisa Starr, ASPCA How to Implement and Enforce the WV Puppy Mill Law, presented by Tara Loller and Summer Wyatt, The Humane Society of the United States Denise Bash, founder of Animal Lifeline another sponsor, also represented conference sponsor Petfinder with many items to stuff in attendee's bags. These national groups are helping us at the state level. Your donation to them is coming back in part to West Virginia through assisting us with animal welfare issues and events like our conference. 2 - FOHO WV Spring 2014
Senator Robert Beach, Monongalia County, pictured with conference speaker and constituent Nancy Young of M-SNAP (Morgantown Spay Neuter Assistance Program). Senator WIlliam Laird, Fayette County, pictured with FOHO Board Member Sylvia Shafer. The media Lawmakers At FOHO WV s biennial conference April 11 and 12, the organization celebrated 20 years in operation by presenting awards to 20 state legislators who have worked diligently to pass laws that improve animal welfare in the state. Over the years, such laws included felony animal cruelty, spay/neuter initiatives, banning gas chambers, and regulating commercial breeding facilities. Because of the work of these legislators, West Virginia was recognized as the most improved state by The Humane Society of the United States in 2013. The legislators recognized were: SENATORS Jeffrey Kessler - Marshall John R. Unger II - Berkeley William R. Laird IV - Fayette Ronald F. Miller - Greenbrier Jack Yost - Brooke Ron Stollings - Boone Larry J. Edgell - Wetzel Rocky Fitzsimmons - Ohio Roman Prezioso - Marion Robert D. Beach - Monongalia DELEGATES Nancy Peoples Guthrie - Kanawha Mike Manypenny - Taylor Tim Miley - Harrison John Overington - Berkeley Brent Boggs - Braxton William Anderson - Wood Denise L. Campbell - Randolph Kevin J. Craig - Cabell Mary M. Poling - Barbour David Walker - Clay The media play an important role in educating the community about animal welfare issues. At FOHO WV s biennial conference April 11 and 12, twelve media outlets were recognized for their excellence in communicating these issues to their audience. Charleston Daily Mail s Billy Wolfe accepts an award from Jo Staats, West Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare. The Steubenville Herald Star, Steubenville, OH The Weirton Daily Times, Weirton The Brooke Review, Wellsville Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston WTRF-TV, Wheeling Wheeling News Register, Wheeling The Intelligencer, Wheeling The Green Tab, Moundsville The Mountain Statesman, Grafton, WV WBOY-TV, Clarksburg WDTV, Bridgeport The Journal, Martinsburg WBOY-TV s Gretchen Ross accepts their award from FOHO WV board member Steve Tennant. FOHO WV s biennial conference garnered a great deal of positive feedback from attendees. When asked what segments of the conference were of most value, some attendees had a hard time answering since they liked the entire conference. Several found the workshop on how to implement and enforce the puppy mill law to be of great value along with the workshop on how to obtain grants. For future conferences, participants suggested a session on feral cats, another on pet rescue, and one on developing a volunteer base. Many said if the conference fee was raised, they would still attend. FOHO WV Spring 2014-3
Comments from one participant I have just been revisiting the FOHO Conference held this year and wanted to compliment you and the Board for the wonderful day I spent. The conference was great with lots of very important information on animal laws and the great changes that are being made. These changes could not happen without Sylvia [Shafer] and FOHO. The groups that were set to help with puppy mills education and the new breeding requirements will surely help those poor animals. As President of the Olive Branch Animal Rescue & Refuge, Inc., I always leave the FOHO Conference with hope for those that have yet to feel the comfort of a warm bed or a full stomach or just a kind touch on the head, and for those that couldn't hang on any longer and have gone on to the Bridge. I hope someday there won't be any more moments to have a moment of silence for those who are abused, abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Your FOHO Conference refreshed me spiritually and mentally as a rescuer to continue to help animals in need, to educate the public on animal care, and to continue to carry on the spaying and neutering of animals to help with their overpopulation. Linda Henriksen, Olive Branch Animal Rescue and Refuge, Inc. - olivebranchwv.org Conference attendees came from a variety of organizations around the state. Here is a sample: Barbour County Maintenance Specialist Barbour County Parks and Recreation Chief of Police Berkeley County Humane Society Kennel Technicians Berkeley County Humane Society Manager Berkeley County Humane Society Treasurer Berkeley County Humane Society Volunteer Braxton County Animal Control Officers Braxton County Animal Shelter Volunteer Braxton County Commission Admin. Asst. Braxton County Commissioners Brooke County Animal Shelter Greenbrier Humane Society Animal Care Manager Greenbrier Humane Society Operations Director Hampshire County Animal Control Director Hancock County Animal Shelter Foundation Media Director Harrison County Animal Control Director & Staff Humane Society of Parkersburg CAET Tech. Huntington -Cabell-Wayne Animal Control /Shelter Asst. Director Huntington -Cabell-Wayne Animal Control /Shelter Director Jackson County Animal Shelter Jefferson County Animal Control Supervisor & Staff John Wayne's Angels Rescue Kanawha Charleston Humane Association Board Member Kanawha Charleston Humane Association CAET Kanawha Charleston Humane Association, Executive Director Lewis-Upshur Animal Shelter Manager Lewis County Animal Control Logan County Dog Warden Marion Co. Animal Control Contractor Marshall County Animal Shelter Director Mason County Dog Warden Mercer County Animal Shelter Animal Control Officers Mercer County Animal Shelter Director Mercer County Animal Shelter Rescue Coordinator Mineral County Animal Control Morgan County Animal Control Officer New River Humane Society & Fayette County Shelter Nicholas County Animal Shelter Ohio County Animal Shelter Coordinator Ohio County Animal Shelter Director and Dog Warden Ohio County SPCA Olive Branch Animal Rescue & Refuge Olive Branch Animal Rescue & Refuge President & Staff Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter Cat S/N Fund Manager Pleasants Co. Humane Society Dog Shelter Manager Preston County Sheriff s Department Preston County Animal Shelter Director P.U.R.R West Virginia, INC, Executive Director P.U.R.R West Virginia, INC, Manager Putnam County Animal Shelter Raleigh County Randolph County Humane Society Animal Technicians Randolph County Humane Society Shelter Director Roane Co. Humane Auth-Society, INC. Roane Co. Humane Auth-Society, INC., President Roane Co. Humane Auth-Society, INC., Secretary Roane Co. Humane Auth-Society, INC., Vice-President Roane County Animal Shelter Animal Care Taker Roane County Animal Shelter Asst. Manager Roane County Animal Shelter Humane Officer Roane County Animal Shelter Manager Safe At Last Sanctuary, INC Founding Member Safe At Last Sanctuary, INC Member Shelter Manager -The Humane Society of Parkersburg Taylor County Animal Control Taylor County Humane Society Board Member Tucker County Animal Control Upshur County Animal Control & Humane Officer Webster County Animal Control Officer Wetzel County Animal Shelter CAETs Wetzel County Asst. Shelter Director Wetzel County Shelter Director Wetzel County Shelter Volunteer Wyoming County Animal Control & Humane Officer 4 - FOHO WV Spring 2014
(President, continued from p. 1) Not too bad for 20 years work! From FOHO WV President, Betty Burkett wonderful, and we have had a lot of good feedback on all the presentations. You will see some pictures and read about the special awards recognizing legislators and some of the media that have been especially helpful with animal issues. My sincerest thanks to Theresa Sis Bruner and all her helpers that put the conference together. We could not do any of this without the national groups sponsoring us. All of the attendees received a free copy of our latest WV Animal Laws book as part of their registration fee. We encourage you to purchase some for your local law enforcement people. They are very handy and user friendly. The sessions on Friday were targeted especially to the Certified Animal Euthanasia Technicians to receive their CEU s required for certification. Doug Fakkema, who was the presenter, has had years of experience in helping with compassion fatigue for employees working in a shelter environment. We were proud to have the state Veterinary Board s cooperation and approval for this workshop. We are thankful to Carey Fleming, executive director of the Vet Board, for her help. Our keynote speaker was the newly elected Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Walt Helmick. His talk on the recently passed state Spay Neuter Assistance Fund law was very favorably received. He answered some tough questions from the audience. There is a lot more info in this e-newsletter, so enough from me. Please enjoy it and pass it on to all you know. We truly appreciate all of you. We look forward to working with you for another 20 years and hope to see you at the next conference. Help create puppy mill registry with records from your county Now that West Virginia has a commercial dog breeding law, each county needs to create a registry of these businesses so they can be regulated. Generic puppy mill registry forms are available through this link or on the FOHO WV website. It is important that counties keep a registry of the commercial breeders in their jurisdiction to ensure that the animals are being cared for based on the standards set forth in the law. WV s animal welfare groups must continue to work with other entities such as...lawmakers...media...sponsors...friends... to educate others and improve the state of West Virginia s unwanted pet population. Data still needed from 25 counties The West Virginia Veterinary Board is now requiring the reporting of the number of animals taken into the shelter as well as the number being euthanized. They have 30 counties reporting in the 2013 CAET (Certified Animal Euthanasia Technician) report. Every CAET in WV must report their statistics to the WV Vet Board. This is helping FOHO WV with gathering some needed data. But our concern is, what is occurring in the remaining 25 counties in West Virginia? Many counties do not have CAETs but those 25 counties must have unwanted animals, and we need to know what is happening to those animals in those counties. The number of animals being euthanized throughout the state seems to be going down but estimates are difficult to calculate due to the lackof data in those 25 remaining counties, almost half of West Virginia. Counties listed below either have no CAET or did not report any data to Vet Board Boone Braxton Calhoun Clay Doddridge Gilmer Grant Hardy Lincoln McDowell Mingo Monroe Morgan Pendleton Pleasants Pocahontas Preston Raleigh Ritchie Summers Taylor Tucker Tyler Webster Wirt If you can help us obtain this information please contact FOHO WV. We need to know intake for dogs and cats and euthanasia for dogs and cats. FOHO WV Spring 2014-5
Conference collage by Rick Kuhn www.fohowv.org Promoting animal welfare throughout WV. News Briefs is a publication of the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia, P. O. Box 686, Elkins, WV 26241. All rights reserved. 6 - FOHO WV Spring 2014