by Connie Tabbert
Editor
COBDEN — Nikki Olmstead is hopeful Bentley will find a new home if his owners don’t claim him.
The young German shepherd mix puppy spent the weekend at her home in Cobden because he was lost. Since they were keeping him for a few days, the family decided to call him Bentley.
Looking back over the past week, Ms. Olmstead said her husband came home from hockey late Thursday night and found this stray dog, lying in their driveway, soaking wet. He woke his wife up and together they agreed to let the dog stay with them.
She put Bentley’s picture and story about being lost on Facebook which was then shared with hundreds of others. However, no one claimed him.
She went to Whitewater Region Township hall Friday, but they didn’t know what to do except have her talk to bylaw officer Doug Schultz. He said he would come and pick up Bentley and take him to the local pound. That’s when Ms. Olmstead was surprised to find there was a pound and a bit dismayed with township staff.
“It was like whoever we spoke with didn’t know it even existed,” she said. “No one at the town said anything to me about the pound except Doug.”
She’s a resident of the township and didn’t know the township had connections to a local pound. While talking with Mr. Schultz, she found out the township has an agreement with Bonnechere Valley Pound to, not only take strays found within the township, but to find homes for them if they aren’t claimed within seven days.
Mr. Schultz said he would pick up Bentley, but Ms. Olmstead said they would keep him for the weekend.
Ms. Olmstead said this is the first time she has ever heard there is a pound that township residents can use. This is a place she feels every resident, or at least every dog owner, should know about, especially if they are a taxpayer in the township.
“As an animal lover, I am very upset that our council or town office does not promote this service, at least through the newsletters they send out from time to time,” Ms. Olmstead said.
She went onto the town’s web site and it’s not promoted there, she went to the town’s listing in the phone book, and it’s not there, she said.
“If you try to find this animal shelter, you won’t,” she said. “(Our township) should be letting people know about this.”
She recalled when she lost her dog two years ago.
“I called every place I could think of and had ads and flyers all over the place,” Ms. Olmstead said. “Not once did I hear about this shelter, which is where stray animals in Whitewater would be taken to.”
She does give credit to the township for being involved with this pound since it’s a no-kill shelter. Instead, it operates like an adoption centre, she said. Once the dog has been there for seven days, and it’s not claimed, it is put into the adoption program, she said.
On Monday, Ms. Olmstead decided to take Bentley to the Pound, even though Mr. Schultz said he would.
“It’s a good place,” she said. “There are big pens, it’s clean, they have straw. The dogs are brought in at night.”
She even liked it that when she and Bentley were there, Steve Feigan, who’s in control of the pound, got right down to Bentley’s level, petted him and checked him over.
“It felt good leaving,” she said. “He clearly cares for the animals.”
Mr. Feigan is the animal control officer for Bonnechere Valley Township as well as the Administrator of Bonnechere Valley Pound, which he has operated for the last seven years.
Giving a brief history, Mr. Feigan said several years ago, most of the townships in this area of the county used to take stray animals to Alder Creek Kennels in Petawawa. When the business sold, there was no place for strays to go, he said. The next closest shelter was in Carleton Place.
Mr. Feigan put together a business case for the pound and Bonnechere Valley Township council agreed to the operation of the pound, which included other area municipalities being clients and providing a monthly fee. He explained it’s the only municipal department at Bonnechere Valley that is never much in the red. Unless there’s a major renovation to be done, the books balance out, he said.
“We don’t make a profit nor are we a burden to the ratepayers,” Mr. Feigan said. “We try and keep it even.”
Animal control officers in each municipality bring the stray dogs to the pound, he said.
“We take care of it, which also includes trying to find its owners,” Mr. Feigan said.
If the owners are not located within seven days, the dog is moved to another location in the province for a chance to find it a good home, he said
The pound operates under the Pounds Act and Animal for Research Act, which are both regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
While there are pounds which operate under the keep the dog for three days and then dispose of it, this pound doesn’t, Mr. Feigan said. There are really only two reasons why a dog brought to the Bonnechere Valley Pound would be euthanized. The first is that it’s a dangerous dog and the second is it’s in pain and suffering, he said.
To find the dog’s owner, Mr. Feigan said it depends on the township. In Bonnechere Valley, if a dog is found and brought to the shelter, its picture is put on the township’s web site.
“In Whitewater, it’s up to Doug to decide if the picture posted or not,” he said
Mr. Schultz said he has not received photos, and if he did receive a photo, it would likely be posted.
However, there would have to be a system set up, so any photos received would be posted, he noted..
The pound is currently trying to develop its own web site so that stray dogs can be listed, Mr. Feigan said.
He has encouraged municipal clients to put information about the Bonnechere Valley Pound in bulletins, newsletters, tax bills, or whatever way they communicate with their ratepayers. He’s even hoping to have a float in every municipal parade the pound has an agreement with.
“This is a wonderful place, and more dogs would get back to their owners, if only the township would let its residents know we’re here,” he said.
To ensure the pound continues to serve the residents of the municipalities it provides a service to, the municipalities each pay towards the costs. The municipalities involved are Whitewater Region, Admaston/Bromley, Bonnechere Valley, North Algona Wilberforce, Killaloe Hagarty and Richards, Algonquins of Pikwaknagan, South Algonquin and Madawaska Valley.
As well, when a dog is brought there, there is a per day fee and then after seven days it goes into the adoption program and all expenses are then covered by the pound, Mr. Feigan said. During those seven days, the dog is well cared for and fed, he said.
If the owner comes forward and claims the dog, he or she must first purchase a dog tag and pay the daily fee the township would have been charged. This fee is then not charged to the township, he said.
“Whitewater is an active township,” Mr. Feigan said in regards to dogs being brought to the shelter. “We get about 20 to 25 dogs a year. About 50 per cent find their way home.”
Mr. Feigan encourages people to purchase the annual dog tag to help ensure dogs who wander, and many will, can find their way safely home. If a dog is brought to the shelter and it has a dog tag, Mr. Feigan will deliver it to its home at no charge.
“That owner is a responsible dog owner, it’s just that the dog decided to take a walk that day,” he said, explaining why he doesn’t charge to return the dog that has a tag to its owner. “It happens.”
Mr. Feigan has even begun operating a surrender program at Bonnechere Valley Pound.
“If you can’t keep your dog, for whatever reason, we’ll assess it, and if it will fit into our adoption program, we’ll take it,” he said.
Ms. Olmstead called Mr. Feigan to do a follow-up on Bentley and found out he’s still there. She encourages anyone who wants a good, loving, and well-trained dog, that’s only about a year old, to choose Bentley.
“He sits, shakes a paw, lets you pet him, he’s so good,” she said.
If interested in adopting Bentley, or if you think you are the owner, call Mr. Feigan, 613-628-5914.
