(c)2009 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL
No, he's not reading the Plain Talk but using it as a mat during a trip to Manhattan in early May. The certified-healthy dog was one of many being sent north for adoption.

Flooding threatened our bean sprouts and put hay mowing on hold in our hometown, as May brought rain, enough to stall high school baseball games last week.

We've been talking about the pet adoption work done at the Newport Animal Shelter by Dr. Carol Hood, the staff, and volunteers. Friends of the Animal Shelter President Robert Brannon invited me out to see the most recent rescue effort last Tuesday night. He is proud that at least 80 percent of the dogs are now being saved. This is in stark comparison to years ago when the majority had to be killed.

Tuesday shortly after 7 p.m. Catherine Morgan assisted by Shelley Moore drove 30 dogs, large and small, to Manhattan. It was the first trip to this New York City shelter and unique in that this shelter has not accepted many dogs. The service we provided got a mention in the New York Times.

You have heard many criticisms of Cocke County, but the Rolling Rescue mission started here is the number one such program in Tennessee for any shelter our size. Dr. Hood explains later in this column that it costs 38 cents more to save a dog then to kill it. By my calculations, they spent $11.40 to save 30 dogs. I saw the animals and have to believe it was money well spent. You've seen ads for giveaways in the Plain Talk. Many times, the shelter answers these ads to get these pets for Rolling Rescue. Local folks who want to adopt pets always get first choice but there are just not many folks arriving to adopt. Christine Hayes, who is from Pennsylvania, said this state requires licensing to own a pet. This is true of many states and the amount is kept small, usually $20 to $25, but it finances powerful spay/neuter programs that keep animal populations in check.

Here is an interesting statistic Carol presented on the cost of euthanizing a dog compared to saving it. For a big dog, the cost to save is $23.80. The cost to kill the same dog is $23.42. It costs only 38 cents more to save an adult dog. "What can you buy for 38 cents?" she asked. And, it actually costs more to kill a puppy than to save it. Last year, the Rolling Rescue mission saved about 1,000 dogs and about 500-600 the prior year. This year more than 1,000 will be sent to other states to new homes. Yet, we are not staying ahead of the ever-growing pet population. She estimated the non-spayed and neutered population in the thousands and that's the problem. The goal for the shelter staff is to have at least a 75 percent save rate.

I asked Carol how she ended up in Cocke County from Harrison County, Georgia. She had met Mike (Dr. Mike Hood of the Family Practice Center) at school in Nashville and was planning to attend the veterinary college at UT Knoxville. Mike located a job at Valentine-Shults Clinic just months before it closed. Newport was close enough to Knoxville to commute so they moved here and love the county. I met some of the shelter staff who also include Shawn Estes, Lisa Layman, Erica Jenkins, Brittany Belcher, Sherry Kingrea, Chris Reyes, Wanda Perez and Nelson Perez. Chip Rollins and Ely Trent are the animal control officers. I learned that Chris Bedell is the volunteer coordinator.

Carol and Christine were preparing the certification on a litter of puppies to be sent north soon. I have seen such pups at times abandoned along the roads or dumped in trash cans. But times are changing rapidly since those days. Spay programs are available in many ways and affordable. One of these is a mobile unit from Madisonville that visits the shelter twice a month. People can bring pets but must call 423-487-3115 in advance. I know the woman in charge of the scheduling. Sharon Shinall is the widow of my late friend, arson investigator Roy Shinall.

By the way, Cynthia Woods has taken on the unique program to rescue pot bellied pigs. That sounds like a story in itself.

In plain talk, the big cities and government leaders don't have all the answers or ideas, sometimes the lifesavers come from folks in our hometown.