The big fix
Wanda Thorpe cradles and calms Pixie after the dog was spayed Tuesday afternoon at the Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force clinic north of Kalispell. Thorpe and her husband, Warren Winter, took in 42 little dogs last month after they were rescued from an abusive situation in Columbia Falls. The couple, and Dieter and Erika Jaegers formed the Thompson River Animal Care Shelter this winter. The four of them drove from Thompson Falls to the task force clinic Tuesday to have 23 rescued and abandoned dogs spayed and neutered. Karen Nichols photos/Daily Inter Lake
Abused dogs visit spay/neuter clinic
Wanda Thorpe's and Warren Winter's lives went to the dogs in a big way last month.
To be exact, the Thompson Falls couple's life went to 42 little dogs - most weighing about 10 pounds - rescued March 16 from an abusive living situation.
"We had one-day's notice," Thorpe said. "We had to scramble to empty our shop and put in kennels and straw."
Just in December, the couple, along with Dieter and Erika Jaegers, received a nonprofit designation to form the Thompson River Animal Care Shelter. They just began accepting animals in January.
"We estimated we'd have four or five dogs," she said. "We never figured we'd get this big this fast."
Thorpe cradled a little dog named Pixie as the pooch recovered from a spay performed by the Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force. The group puts on low-cost spay and neuter clinics each month at its Trumble Creek Road clinic.
Mimi Beadles, task force president, said she learned about the abused dogs through the news. She called Thorpe to offer discounted neutering, spaying and rabies shots.
It was just what the shelter needed to prepare the rescued animals for adoption.
"She just jumped at it," Beadles said.
Thorpe, Winter, and Erika and Dieter Jaegers loaded up a truck and trailer with dogs in pet haulers for the Tuesday morning trip from Thompson Falls. They brought 23 dogs for the first round of operations and scheduled a second trip for the May clinic.
Beadles said the task force extended its three-day April clinic by one day for the Thompson River dogs. A group of vets, techs and volunteers neutered and spayed more than 200 area dogs and cats during the first three days.
Veterinarian Kate List of Columbia Falls performed the surgeries on the extra day with assistance from techs Gee Weaver, Heather Hill and Ann Thiel.
"They work for slave wages," Beadles said. "We do over 2,000 surgeries a year."
Task force volunteers Valerie Stewart, Robin Tucker, Judy Olson and Gary Cronin handled other important duties, such as dog tending, cleaning up and cooking.
Beadles hopes the coverage of this special clinic encourages low-income pet owners to call 881-4500 to book an appointment to spay and neuter their dog or cat at the next clinic.
She said euthanasia remains the No. 1 cause of death for dogs and cats, with 4 million-5 million killed nationwide each year.
"We're loving our pets to death," she said. "This [the abused dogs] is what happens is you don't spay and neuter. She (the owner) started out with two dogs."
Thorpe said her shelter rescued 42 of 54 dogs from an elderly woman who had the dogs and some cats living in deep feces in several trailers. Of the remaining dogs, one died and the rest had to be euthanized.
They faced a huge job cleaning up and putting up the 42 dogs in their new quarters. The fur on some were heavily matted with feces.
"Scotty, when we got him, had dreadlocks," she said.
Thorpe, a pharmaceutical salesperson, took time off work to help get the dogs settled. Now, Winters handles the daily work with good humor.
"I get up, start feeding dogs, and then I go to bed," he said with a laugh.
Thorpe said she and Erika Jaegers got the idea to start a shelter last summer. Before then, Thompson Falls officials had little choice, other than euthanasia, for a problem this large.
"There was nothing at all in terms of a humane organization," Thorpe said.
Described as mainly dachshund/Yorkie/terrier mixes, the dogs include several litters of puppies ranging in ages from 1 to six weeks. Since word about the dogs' plight hit the media, the shelter has received contributions and applications for adoptions.
People interested in adopting should go to the shelter's Web site at pet-tracs.com and click the "pet rescue" tab, then the "form" tab for an application. Thorpe said people need to have a fenced yard as well as time to house-train the dogs.
With time, the dogs should learn new habits. Thorpe said they will bond quickly with attention from a new owner.
"They're all smart," she said.
They plan to start adopting out the dogs on Saturday, April 21. People who want to participate on that day in Great Falls should fax their applications to 827-3097. Others can mail their applications or a tax-deductible contributions to TRACS, P.O. Box 1589, Thompson Falls, MT 59873.
Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com