PHILIPSBURG – A phone call, a chance visit and, some say, a miracle converged to save a stray dog and her puppies and create a new volunteer program for the Clearfield County SPCA.
According to SPCA Executive Director Pam Smith, a Beagle had been running loose in the Bigler area for nearly two months. Numerous attempts to catch her were unsuccessful until someone reported the situation to Clearfield County Dog Warden Karen Walstrom.
“She placed a live trap in the area the dog was mostly seen and Karen’s supervisor, Harold Walstrom, checked the trap the next day. It seemed like a miracle but the dog was in the trap,” Smith explained.
A quick check determined the wayward hound, christened Cindy Lou, was sweet, gentle, in relatively good health but very pregnant and her impending medical needs could not be met at the SPCA shelter. An ultrasound revealed eight puppies.
“We made some calls and the Bucks County SPCA agreed to take her. They have a local boarding kennel that will foster her and her puppies until they are old enough to be adopted,” Smith continued.
But how to transport the expectant mother four hours across the state? The shelter’s truck needed repairs and there was no one able to make the trip.
Coincidentally – or providentially – the day Cindy Lou was brought to the shelter was the day Jesse Shaner, owner of Shaner Industrial Services and the man who maintains the facility’s crematory, stopped by. He lives in eastern Pennsylvania and was on his way home and was happy to take some passengers along for the ride.
“So off she went to a warm haven to have her puppies, a place filled with people who will give her and her babies all the attention, medical care and anything else they might need. We had a happy ending this time but the situation underscores two important issues, the need to report strays immediately and the need for a volunteer driver list,” Smith said.
“It’s imperative to call the state dog warden if you see a stray dog. This girl has been through a terrible ordeal that could have been shortened considerably if someone had made the call,” she noted.
In Clearfield County, Karen Walstrom’s phone number is 277-4548. The regional office in Altoona can be reached at 946-7315. The state Department of Agriculture’s website, www.agriculture.state.pa.us, can provide other county dog wardens’ contact information.
The SPCA is currently compiling a list of volunteer drivers for trips like this one and for other purposes, like transporting an animal to a rescue group or another shelter or taking animals to be spayed or neutered to Mount Nittany Veterinary Hospital.
For more information or to sign on for this effort, call Shari Trythall at 765-0123.