Chillicothe Gazette

Title: "Adena grad doing something for pets at Humane Society"

Adena grad doing something for pets at Humane Society

A recent Adena High School graduate Tuesday will present several items to the Ross County Humane Society board that she has been able to purchase for the shelter with a grant she was able to secure through the Web site DoSomething.org.

Callie Rowe, 18, was awarded $500 from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after submitting a presentation, "Every Dog Deserves a Walk," to the Web site DoSomething.org.

Along with the items bought with the grant money, she will present additional items obtained through donations from Chillicothe-based Petland. "People in the area need to get out more and volunteer," she said. In her presentation, Rowe identifies what she sees as a problem for the shelter.

"This project is to benefit the 'residents' at the Ross County Humane Society," she writes. "They are usually filled to capacity with dogs and cats. With a small staff, they are not able to walk the dogs often, and it is out in the country where a lot of people in our county have never even been. "Besides dog walking, I hope that bringing more volunteers to the shelter will also lead to more adoptions."

Rowe, who presented her idea to the Humane Society, was asked to create a flyer. After the board approved it, it was to be mailed out to senior citizens' groups, 4-H clubs and area churches, among other locations. She then intended to follow up with directors of those organizations to gauge interest. "I'm excited to be doing this because I love animals," she said.

The intent of the flyer is to encourage various groups to spend a couple of hours at the shelter on a regular basis helping walk the dogs, socializing the cats, bathing animals and doing other chores. Rowe is familiar with the work for which volunteers are needed. She and her mother have volunteered at the Lick Run Road shelter, walking and bathing dogs, helping with laundry and playing with the cats.

Her intent in receiving the grant was to provide new leashes for dog walkers to use and benches for them to sit on when taking the dogs out. She even was hoping to collect enough to pave a path for dog walking and provide the shelter with new towels, shampoo and other items.

What she's been able to do is purchase strong new leads for dog walking, two puppy corrals for off-site events, harnesses, flea shampoo and a kennel designed for transport. She has created a poster to post at veterinarian offices and other organizations and collected Petland donations that have included treats, toys, cat items and food. As part of her project, she indicated she would raise funds by mowing lawns and by getting help from her parents to pay for postage for the flyers.

DoSomething.org is an organization that offers tools and resources to teens with the intent of inspiring them to find a cause or project to better the community and become a generation that will begin a lifetime of giving back.

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