Good news: Shelter gets eggs out
of the deal
The Animal Protection League is an open admission shelter for the City of Anderson.
We also are contracted with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department to take what the County Animal Control officers bring us. This simply means, whether we have space or not, we have to take what these two entities bring us.No matter what it is.
We always dread hoarding situations, dogfighting and or cockfighting busts. The numbers can simply overwhelm us.
CJ, our Anderson Police Department Animal Control officer gave a heads-up last week that we might be getting some chickens.
I’m thinking 5 or 6. It was 24.
Apparently the owner of the chickens was doing some bad things which caused APD to visit, whereupon they found 24 chickens. Considering the condition of some of the roosters and the number, there is a good possibility that he was involved in cockfighting. They brought them all to us.
We were scrambling to find enough cages. In these kind of situations, often unless an owner immediately signs them over to us they have 10 days to post a bond in order to have the possibility to get their animals back — once a judge has ruled.
That means we have to continue to care for them often in our facility which is already full. And chickens, particularly caged chickens, have never been known to be clean animals. Some are downright cranky.
We have them space back in the garage portion of the shelter. It sounds like Old McDonald’s farm back there. The noise is horrendous; it is a nightmare. To be honest it feels like an insane asylum. People are calling and stopping by saying, “Hey heard you have a few chickens.” Nudge, nudge laugh, laugh.
They stop laughing when I take them back to the chicken coop. They can’t get away fast enough.
It looks like Comedy Central when my city bred and born kennel workers are chasing these chickens when they are trying to clean their cages.
One of the employees now understands that under no circumstances do you ever stick your arm in a cage with a chicken. His arm looks like someone went after it with a hole punch. Some would rather go up against a snarling, snapping hundred-pound dog that to handle a clucking chicken.
The good news is the owner turned himself in to APD and signed over his chickens to us. We are the proud owners of 24 chickens.
And we have fresh eggs.
Perhaps we will sell eggs to raise money for the shelter. Maybe we can get a chicken lover to donate a large chicken coop so our chickens can live in style and produce eggs for us.
We are frantically calling every farmer or person with property in the county who we know who might possibly desire a rooster. Funny, everyone wants the hens — very few want the crowing roosters. So if you have a farm and love the obnoxious call of the rooster please come on down to see our beautiful birds.
Please come visit our cats and dogs as well if you aren’t in the market for a chicken. Adopt a shelter animal; save a life.
Maleah Stringer is executive director of the Animal Protection League, 613 Dewey St., Anderson. She can be reached at 356-0900 or at maleahstringer@aol.com.
Community
Related Photos
-
Maleah Stringer John P. Cleary
Discussion
Maleah Stringer: Shelter gets eggs out of deal
- Community
-
-
Community Build celebrates Habitat’s 25th year
Volunteers turned out for a recent Community Build Event marking Habitat for Humanity’s 25th anniversary in Madison County. What started out as a pile of lumber at 8:30 a.m. wound up at noon as the framed walls of Habitat’s latest project home.
-
Community Briefs: May 23
A compilation of community news items as published in the Thursday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Going strong at 90
Martha Passwater is well-known at the White River Club. She’s known as the 89-year-old who actively enjoys classes at the fitness club. But the Knightstown native and longtime Anderson resident is also known for volunteering at St. Vincent Anderson Regional Hospital and playing golf with the Grandview Ladies League
-
Pendleton singer debuts CD at Falls Park show
Jacob Brown was 7 years old when his grandfather taught him to play “Jesus Loves Me” on the guitar. Since then, the Pendleton Heights senior has become an accomplished singer, songwriter and musician.
-
Jim Bailey: Gospel concerts both fun, ministry
What’s really important is the impact of a concert on the audience. Gauging that often comes from feedback received in the electronic media as well as handwritten communiqués.
-
Community Briefs: May 22
A compilation of community news items as published in the Wednesday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Community Briefs: May 20
A compilation of community news as published in the Monday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Bed and breakfast with a gangster past
-
Maleah Stringer: Pets, like humans, can get better with age
As I mentioned in the column last week the Animal Protection is full to the brim with wonderful adoptable pets. Unfortunately many of these pets are seniors, 8-plus-years-old.
-
Taking a short look at city streets
- More Community Headlines
-
