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Opinions
1,000 is big any way you count it
BY GLENN HARBISON, PUBLISHER
Monday, December 15, 2008 4:03 PM CST
Any way you look at it, 1,000 is a big number. It’s a half a ton when talking about pounds. In miles, it will take a traveler from Blue Ridge all the way to Elk City, Oklahoma, about 150 miles west of Oklahoma City.
If it is broken down into dollars, it will buy about 175 gallons of milk or some 680 gallons of gas.
Consider 1,000 when counting human lives and it is almost unimaginable.
Translate that comparison into the lives of puppies and many people would come up with the same answer - unimaginable.
That is the reason why rescuing over 1,000 puppies is such a phenomenal accomplishment, and this is exactly what FAMA has done.
The Fannin Animal Medical Account recently recorded the 1,000th puppy it has saved from euthanasia since December 2005.
Had it not been for FAMA, these puppies faced almost certain death.
Fannin County Animal Control, where most of the puppies have come from, does not have enough space to take care of all the puppies and dogs it receives. After a certain amount of time, animals housed there are put down to make room for incoming animals.
“Put down” and “euthanized” are the soft ways to say the animals are killed. The sad fact is that animal control officers have no choice if the animals are not adopted or rescued.
FAMA has been so successful that between January 2007 and June 2008, it is credited with decreasing the euthansia rate at Fannin Animal Control by 71 percent. Just like 1,000, that is a big number.
So, who is FAMA? It’s a group of volunteers, but at the heart of that group is Jan Eaton.
Eaton has waged a war against the practice of “putting down” animals for as long as I can remember. She has fought heart and soul to keep every puppy alive she possibly could.
Among other things, she has driven countless thousands of miles to see her efforts succeed. FAMA takes puppies to Purrs ’n Pups, an anti-kill rescue group in New Jersey that adopts the young dogs into homes. Eaton is quite often at the wheel of FAMA’s van as it makes its way north loaded with puppies.
But, she does much more than just drive. She tends to every puppy that comes her way, whatever that tending may require.
She does not want the credit for the puppies’ lives that have been saved. She really does not want any credit at all. She is quick to point to the many other volunteers who help, Dr. William Mitchell who vaccinates many of the animals, and John Drullinger at Fannin Animal Control. She thanks everyone she can think of. She knows all of those involved often have thankless jobs.
Yet, the fact is, FAMA would not be anywhere near as successful as it has been if it were not for Jan Eaton. She’s done a great job, whether she wants to accept the praise or not. And so have all the other FAMA volunteers, as have the volunteers aligned with the many pet groups in Fannin and Polk counties who look after the welfare of unwanted animals. There are many groups that deserve thanks and praise.
If you want to help FAMA, the volunteers are more than welcome to accept your donation. Mail it to: Fannin Animal Medical Account, c/o Jan Eaton, P.O. Box 419, Blue Ridge, Ga., 30513. Your donation can be your way of saying thanks to FAMA and Merry Christmas to a puppy who will live to see another Christmas because of you.
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Tough, wrenching decision made in Fannin’s interest
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