Tim McCoyle, a former employee at the Haywood County Animal Shelter, said that "he and other concerned individuals have placed more animals in homes than high profile entities like the Sanctuary at Valley View Farm.”

Well, I would like the public to consider some factors when thinking about such a comment. I have absolutely no idea how many animals Tim or any of the other groups mentioned have saved. I am also sure that they do not know exactly how many animals we have saved in our first 14 months of business. It is useless to compare.

What I would like to address, however, is the fundamental importance of considering what kind of rescue, care and adoptions these animals receive.

Oftentimes, people get absorbed in numbers and do not think to look behind them. I do not pretend to know what quality of life animals rescued by these other individuals have had or do have. All I can speak of is the commitment of the Sanctuary to a quality of life for all our animals.

We are often criticized for having 80 acres and only two dozen animals at this point. What do people think we should do? Should we just turn them loose all over the property? Let them wander down to the neighbor’s farm and harass his livestock? Or should we put them all in crates and cages and stack them as high as we can? Or should we keep five or six dogs in one run so they fight over food, can't have bones and toys to fight over, never get any time of quiet to themselves? Or maybe we should let them live in the horse stalls? Maybe they don't need to even get out of their cages? Maybe they don't want the play and training time we give them for 6-8 hours a day? Maybe we shouldn't try to housebreak them or spend the energy training them to make them more adoptable ... maybe we should put 30 or 40 cats in one room and not mind if they are overcrowded, living in filth and unhappy.

But we care. My point is that we have very intentionally chosen our capacity, policies, routine and mission in order to reflect what we feel is the quality of life that every animal deserves. When someone comes to adopt, we reflect our ideals by the life we provide these animals. We educate people about why we do things the way we do - not to spoil the animals but to treat them as creatures with emotion, psychologies, intellect, concerns, behaviors.

My background is in the human-animal bond and is largely focused on canine psychology. With the understanding of a dog's psyche I have, I know I must meet those needs. A dog is a pack animal - it needs relationship, structure, rules, expectations. A dog is incredibly more intelligent than most people give them credit for. They need to think and learn and wonder and explore.

So we have a very highly developed program to meet those needs, and our dogs are happy. And while they are here, they do improve, not deteriorate, behaviorally and emotionally. In addition, because of the quality of our programs, we have a high turnover rate for our animals here. They don’t get “stuck” here. The average number of days spent here for a dog is 32. For cats it is 58.

So we are adopting what we bring in, and our adopters are thrilled with the program - with the care that has gone into the animal while it has been here, with our added effort to help find the right match for them, with the education and resources we provide them with when they leave. Having a high turnover rate reflects the quality of our program. And yes, while only 118 animals have been rescued thus far by us (remembering we have just opened and only built our first kennels in January), our adoptions (exclusively from the Haywood County Animal Shelter) account for roughly 18 percent of all adoptions since January.

That means that we are accountable roughly for 18 percent of all the lives that made it out. That means something. And while 80 acres may seem a bit much for where we are now, people have to realize this land is an investment in the future for animals. We will grow. With funding, staff, and buildings, we can easily double that percentage each year. Think where we could be in just five years.

Oh, and about the myth that we only take the cutest, healthiest animals from the shelter. Folks should talk to our 10-year-old dog, Teresa, who has cancer and is not about to win any beauty contest (although she is downright adorable in her own right, like every dog in our eyes). And there's Pumpkin, our 18-year-old cat with only one tooth in her whole head.

It is so incredibly important that people question the reality behind rumors and numbers, and comparing who’s saving how many and whether they are therefore doing a good job or not. We could have done double the adoptions we did this year, if we said yes to everyone who wanted one. But there are good homes and bad ones, right homes and wrong ones. Very few sanctuary animals have ever been returned because it did not work out, and those that have were mostly due to factors other than the animal's behavior or some responsibility of the Sanctuary. Put them in the right home, they'll live there forever. Put them in the wrong one, and they are likely to be returned, or worse, mistreated or abandoned.

I would like to close by saying that this argument in defense of the Sanctuary may be pointless because the insult that spawned it was. I can not see how anyone working towards a goal would try to undermine or damage anyone else trying to accomplish the same thing. If other people in the community rescue animals, I applaud them for their work. I do not wish to compare. The only time criticism is warranted is when someone is being abusive or neglectful in their actions, and I guarantee you the sanctuary has never been. We are providing a service to animals and to the community. We were just born. We are still growing. We are making a difference. We are trying to help. We are filling a niche. We are trying to work with others. We have invited participation from every group in WNC into our cooperative coalition to create a greater sense of appreciation and respect among groups. Why should we insult each other? What in God's name is the point? Animals suffer at the hand of our ignorance, they die at the hand of our egos.

I humbly request the community to pull together, put aside petty differences, and make differences that will last. I can not carry this stone without you. You can not carry it without me. Shall we both stand here forever staring at it, knowing how desperately it needs to be moved? Or shall we give each other a hand and carry it together?

Maybe then, all my defense is useless. I just want people to know who we are, what we do and why, and extinguish any negativity in the community about us. What have we done wrong except to invest in the future of our community's animals? What can we do but our best and ask that others help us ALL work together?

(Kim Brophey is executive director of the Animal Sanctuary at Valley View Farm in Clyde, a no-kill animal sanctuary.)

 

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