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Film ‘Dr. Dolittle’ to help raise funds for Humane Society
County commissioners may decide to increase adoption fees for abandoned pets.
COLUMBIANA — A movie about a doctor who talks with animals will be shown to raise funds to help real ones.
“Dr. Dolittle” starred Rex Harrison in the title role in the 1967 children’s classic.
The Salem-based Humane Society of Columbiana County will sponsor the film as its spring fundraiser at 7 p.m. Friday and as a matinee Sunday at 2 p.m. at the renovated Main Street Theater and Encore Caf here.
The movie was based on the 12 Doctor Dolittle books Hugh Lofting wrote, starting in 1920.
The doctor sets sail from his home in Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, England, in search of the Great Pink Sea Snail. Along the way, he meets fantastic creatures such as the Pushme-Pullyu and the Giant Moon Moth.
The movie won Oscars for its special effects and for the original song “Talk to the Animals.” It also was nominated for seven other Academy Awards including best picture and best cinematography.
The local picture is less rosy but not desperate, according to local animal protection officials.
The county commissioners next week are to discuss increasing the adoption fees at the county dog pound. The possible increase of $20 would cover a $20 increase Angels for Animals in Mahoning County charges for spaying or neutering dogs from the Columbiana County shelter.
In a separate issue, the commissioners haven’t increased license fees for dogs that could provide more funds for animal services as previously asked by humane officials.
Brenda Austin, the county’s humane agent who investigates animal-cruelty complaints, said she was not sure that there are any more abandoned animals in the county.
“I do believe that pet owners are finding it more difficult to maintain their pets properly due to issues such as job loss, gas prices, higher prices in general,” she said.
One reason often cited by people for having to get rid of their pets is that they are moving.
Unfortunately, the owners often wait until the last minute to find homes, or they put the animals outside and leave permanently.
Jenny Pike, the president of the Humane Society of Columbiana County, a nonprofit agency shelter, said it receives either donated animal food or gets broken bags of food from stores that can’t be sold.
Austin said there has been a rise in demand for low-cost spay/neuter services, with many residents now qualifying for the program who didn’t qualify a year.
When a spay/neutering program was done recently in the county, the veterinarian pushed to do as many operations as possible, Pike said.
wilkinson@vindy.com