Craig County’s ‘Angel’ of Assisi
CRAIG COUNTY – Drive by the parking lot of the Cornerstone Church of God of Prophecy in New Castle at 6:30 on the morning of Jan. 27, and you’ll see Craig County’s own “Angel” of Assisi in action.
Craig County resident Kathy Sowers will be there accepting cats and dogs whose owners have made arrangements to have them spayed or neutered at the Angels of Assisi Clinic in Roanoke. Angels of Assisi, whose motto is “Dedicated to the preservation of life for all animals,” operates a low-cost spay/neuter clinic at their location on Campbell Avenue in Roanoke.
Craig County's "Angel" of Assisi Kathy Sowers prepares to load a cat before an early-morning transport of animals to Angels of Assisi for veterinary care. Photo by Ann Harrell
Angels of Assisi and Harmony Farm Sanctuary are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and care of all living creatures. They provide reduced-cost medical care to companion animals with special emphasis on spaying and neutering to prevent pet overpopulation.
The organizations also provide shelter, care and sustenance to companion and domesticated farm animals in need, including an adoption center for homeless dogs and cats and a farm animal sanctuary.
Angels of Assisi has provided spay and neuter services for over 45,000 pets in the Roanoke area and found homes for over 1,500 animals. Contributions mean a great deal to the organization, but it means even more to the homeless animals that depend on Angels of Assisi for survival.
Those who know Kathy will attest to her devotion to animals, and this is evident as she loads and unloads the animals. She stays calm and organized amidst the whining, barking, and meowing of the animals, as she reassures concerned owners that their particular animal is not in discomfort and/or pain as the crates are shuffled and rearranged.
It’s evident that this is not an easy “job.” What most people don’t know, though, is Kathy is not paid for any of her time or labor nor for the gas used in transporting the animals. Sometimes, though, pet owners sometimes give her small amounts of money for gas.
The staff at Angels of Assisi in Roanoke schedules a day each six to eight weeks when they accept animals from Craig County for their spay/neuter clinic. After Kathy is notified of the date, she then gets the word out to pet owners in Craig County by word-of-mouth and by a notice in The New Castle Record Calendar.
If the quota for that date isn’t met, then the date is given to another locality, and Craig County loses an opportunity to prevent unwanted puppies and kittens. The dog or cat must weigh at least 2 pounds. If the animal is not current on rabies vaccine and meets the age requirement, the rabies vaccine will be given at the clinic. Other vaccines can be given, all for an additional charge.
Pet owners usually have a few weeks notice of the clinic, giving them time to make arrangements with Kathy. The pets must be in a crate and must be in the parking lot of the Cornerstone Church by 6:45 a.m. on the scheduled date. There is some paperwork to be completed, so it’s better to be there a few minutes early. Each crate has the name of the animal and the owner’s name taped on it, and then the crate is loaded into Kathy’s vehicle.
When fully loaded, there are crates in the very back and in the back seat, and another crate in the front passenger seat. A total of 15 to 20 animals from Craig County are scheduled, so Kathy enlists the help of another volunteer to transport some of the animals. After their surgeries, the animals are loaded back into the transport vehicles and returned to their owners in the church parking lot, usually in late afternoon.
Kathy emphasized the importance of keeping the appointment and of having the animals at the pickup point no later than 6:45 a.m. since they must be at Angels of Assisi’s location on time. Animals must be in a sturdy crate, not in a cardboard box or makeshift container.
Since transport space is limited, Kathy urges owners to use crates that are as small as possible.
On one recent transport, young cats were brought to Kathy in a cardboard box, one that veterinarians sometimes sell.
The owner thought the cats were secure since they had been in the box for about 30 minutes and seemed content. On the way to Roanoke, however, the cats tore or chewed a hole in the box and escaped into the vehicle. Kathy finished the trip to Roanoke with no problems, and the cats were caught before they could jump out of the vehicle.
On the trip home that afternoon, one of the cats again escaped from its box and roamed around in the vehicle. This could have been disastrous since the cats were still under the effects of the anesthesia given before surgery, she pointed out. During the recovery time, the animals need to be confined since their movements are sometimes uncoordinated, and their thought process is not back to normal.
“I could just imagine that cat plastered to the top of my head or clinging to my face as I was traveling down I-581!” Kathy said. When she arrived back in New Castle, the owner helped recover the cats from the vehicle and apologized for the harrowing experience.
Jean Bradley of New Castle is one of Kathy’s “best customers” and a volunteer transporter. Jean has had about 20 animals, mostly cats, spayed or neutered by Angels of Assisi. Some of these animals are her personal pets, and some are feral cats from her neighborhood or farm. Jean is very passionate about the need to spay or neuter cats especially, since many people dislike cats and mistreat them.
“This is a great service and people need to take advantage of it, especially now when money is hard to come by,” said Jean, who has several sturdy crates that she is willing to loan out for this purpose. She may be reached at 864-5429.
Information found on the SpayUSA web site indicates that a single unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing two litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter, can total 11,801 cats at the end of five years. At the end of nine years, that figure increases to an astounding 11,606,077 cats.
Each day there are seven times as many kittens and puppies as humans born in the United States. At that rate, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. Not only does spaying/neutering eliminate unwanted offspring, but it also reduces or eliminates the risk of certain cancers, reduces the desire to roam, and reduces or eliminates the problem of male cats spraying and marking their territory.
Unwanted cats and dogs are frequently dumped at farms, under the incorrect assumption that the farmers can always use another dog or cat (or several). The farmers then are faced with the job of finding a home for these animals or of calling on the local Animal Control Officer to catch them.
Other problems include the dogs harming their farm animals, the cats and dogs bringing in diseases to the farm animals, and the chance of injury to the farmers’ own pets. The risk of rabies is always present and can be spread to the farmers and their families, as well as to their animals.
Kathy has been involved in veterinary medicine for over 13 years and is currently employed part-time by a veterinarian. Kathy also has her own pet-sitting service, which can include anything from dogs and cats to horses and llamas. She travels to locations in Craig and surrounding counties, providing care for the animals at their own home.
As if all of this isn’t enough to keep her busy, Kathy operates a dog boarding business on the farm in the Meadow Creek section of Craig County, where she lives with her husband, William (better known as Preacher), and her daughter, Morgan.
She has several chain-link enclosures, each with its own dog house and water and food bowls. The enclosures, the dog houses, and the bowls are always disinfected between occupants. All dogs must be current on their vaccinations. Kathy keeps a file on each dog, including a consent form with information on food and medicine, emergency contact numbers, veterinarian name and contact info, and any special instructions.
Some clients refer to her place as “Kathy’s Camp”, since their dogs like it so much. She currently has a client base of approximately 200, and can furnish references from all her clients.
When Kathy was asked why she is involved with the Angels of Assisi spay/neuter program, she said “It’s important for the welfare of the animals. It’s a public service, and I feel like I can be the voice of the animals, because every animal deserves a chance. As committed as Angels of Assisi is to provide the service, I am committed to seeing that Craig County gets the service. I volunteer because I enjoy working with the animals and overseeing their care, and it gives me an opportunity to stress the importance of preventative care. Pet overpopulation is not just a local problem but a national problem, so let’s all do our part.”
For more information on services provided by Angels of Assisi and their charges, call their office at 344-8707, or go to their web site at www.angelsofassisi.org.
Kathy expects to be taking another group of animals from Craig County to the spay/neuter clinic sometime in March.
For the details on this, call Kathy at 864-6469, before 9 p.m. If you have a SUV or pickup with a cover and have some spare time once every six or eight weeks, Kathy might just have a volunteer “job” for you, one that will benefit the residents and the animals of Craig County.
All citizens of Craig County should consider themselves blessed and thankful to have such an incredible neighbor in Kathy Sowers (“Craig County’s Angel of Assisi”, Jan. 27). Her genuine, easy going spirit, can-do attitude, and non-stop energy should be celebrated and emulated. My wife and I have known Kathy (and William) for many years and are continually reminded of what truly wonderful, down to earth people they are. They both have come to our rescue on too many occasions to count. Her tireless work with both pets and their human companions absolutely benefits the quality of life in Craig County. Thank you so much, Kathy