Fund seeks to save lives of animals

The Columbiana Dog Warden said her facility is already a no-kill shelter.

SALEM — A beloved miniature schnauzer who passed away is inspiring local animal-welfare agencies to work together.

Dave and Cheryl Duffield of Alameda, Calif., founded Maddie’s Fund in their pet’s name in 1999 and financed the fund with more than $300 million to help create and fund no-kill shelters. Maddie died in 1977.

The fund has provided animal-welfare organizations and universities with $71.6 million to save dogs and cats.

The fund’s Web site said it has the goal of a no-kill nation in less than 10 years.

Columbiana County animal-welfare groups are joining in and joining together. A no-kill shelter does not euthanize any adoptable animal.

“The Animal Welfare Coalition” of Columbiana County has been formed with the goal of making Columbiana a “no-kill” county by 2019.

According to Maddie’s Fund, some 150 dogs and cats were killed per year for every 1,000 people in 1970. As of 2000, that number had dropped to 16.8 animals per year per 1,000 people.

The local plan includes uniting representatives from Alchemy Acres in Salem, the Columbiana County Dog Warden’s Office in Lisbon and the Humane Society of Columbiana County in Salem.

Officials from the humane society and Alchemy Acres could not be reached.

“Some of the organizations involved in the coalition have had their differences in the past,” said Mark Twyford, the HSCC interim executive director. “The easiest thing would be to dwell upon those past differences, but that would be counterproductive to advancing the cause of animal welfare in the future.”

The HSCC adopted a new “no-kill” policy for animals in June.

Alchemy Acres’ Web site says it is “Columbiana County’s First True No-Kill Facility.”

The county society hired Twy-ford to serve as interim executive director and oversee the local group’s transition to a limited- admissions philosophy. Injured animals will be given to volunteers to care for until they are healthy.

Dawn McVay, who runs the county dog warden’s office, said Monday that today will mark her third year as dog warden.

She said she will work with anyone in order to help the animals.

“Very few animals are put down at the pound now,” she said. “They should not be killed for no reason.”

She said when it comes to being a “no-kill” facility, the pound is “pretty much at that point right now.”

Twyford said the creation of the coalition also will allow the group to seek financial support from grant-giving foundations, such as Maddie’s Fund, which he said could be millions of dollars. The foundation supports coalitions that try to provide a community-wide adoption guarantee to all healthy shelter animals by the start of the fifth year, and to extend that guarantee to all treatable dogs and cats by the end of the 10th year.

wilkinson@vindy.com