Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Published August 26, 2009 03:50 pm - I stopped in one of the local chain pharmacies the other day to purchase a birthday card. You never know when Halloween will appear Robert Lebzelter column for Aug. 30, 2009 I stopped in one of the local chain pharmacies the other day to purchase a birthday card. Not knowing for certain where they are located these days, I turned a corner and found myself right smack in the middle of Halloween stuff. Hold on. It can't be Halloween yet. Halloween means darkness before 7, cold rains, a few snow flurries. Hey, I haven't sat out on the back deck yet. I haven't hiked down to the creek to go wading. I've only gone swimming in Lake Erie once. Halloween? Why that is just a jump away from Thanksgiving, which is almost Christmas, which is another term for New Year's. Can it be 2010 already? Is the great Y2k debacle a decade old? All right, maybe I can getting ahead of myself a bit. But I guess getting ready for Halloween isn't too far fetched, although I can't imagine people spending money on ghost costumes or candy corn just yet. But I can relate because right around Halloween is the Boo Wow Walk, the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Ashtabula County Animal Protective League. It's the APL that takes in orphaned dogs and cats, neuters them, gives them shots and attempts to adopt them out. I'm pretty familiar with the APL. It was four years ago this month I started visiting the animals there, taking energy-filled pooches on couple-of-mile runs. Lots has changed and lots has stayed the same since I first visited the APL in August 2005 to expand my running regime to my four-legged friends (although on more than one occasion, I've taken three-legged pooches out, one of whom I didn't even notice the missing leg until the second mile of our journey.) The APL has had about six dozen directors in that time although there is a core of animal lovers who have worked there for many years. There is never a shortage of homeless animals. There is never a shortage of idiot humans who don't care for their pets. There is never a shortage of needs. Virtually every year, despite vigilance, there is a parvovirus outbreak, a horrible and contagious disease that usually targets younger dogs and puppies. During these times, the APL must obtain massive amounts of bleach and other cleansers to wash walls and floors to get rid of the virus. It usually means the facility is closed up to two weeks. During that time, people must be paid, animals must be fed, utilities must be paid, extra cleansers must be bought, animals must continued to be accepted but no dogs go out. The only income comes from unaffected cats being adopted.. This year has been an exception to the annual parvo outbreak. Last week the APL suffered its second parvo outbreak of the year, making the financial crisis there more desperate. Each year there's a few episodes in which someone with a house full of cats or dogs surrenders them, adding to the APL overcrowding and expense. 
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