County Seat Newspaper
of Clare County
Harrison, MIFair, 29°
Wind: 5.8 mph, E
Harrison, MI
HARRISON – Animal Control Director Rudi Hicks had a pleasant surprise last week when she received an email from Metro Detroit-based Bark Nation seeking approval to make a donation to the shelter’s residents. Hicks provided the OK, and two Bark Nation representatives arrived Wednesday, Nov. 24 to bring the shelter a supply of KONGs, which are heavy rubber chew toys that can be filled with the treat of choice.
And filled they were! Trays of KONGs filled with turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin. And, appreciating that it takes a large staff to care for the many animals in the shelter’s care, treats also included snack crackers and other goodies for shelter personnel.
All these goodies were part of Pet Nation’s 8th Annual KONGsgiving event, which included stops at shelters across both of the state’s peninsulas prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Kerry McLaughlin, president and co-founder of Bark Nation, and volunteer Reagan Gilshire were the emissaries bringing the goodies. Both were highly sincere, professional representatives of their organization, proudly explaining the group’s history and the multi-faceted scope of its work.
“Bark Nation’s been around for 8 years now,” McLaughlin said. “We started out doing a lot of enrichment with shelters, and that’s how KONGsgiving was started. Last night we were hanging out and making these KONGs.”
She said more than 1,500 KONGs had been prepared this year, which their teams delivered that day to 42 shelters all over the state of Michigan and Ohio.
“Our first shelter was in the U.P. today, at the Eva Burrell Shelter in Manistique,” McLaughlin said.
She explained that her group had started out doing projects like this for shelters, but in short order it became apparent there was a need to step in to work to thwart dog fighting and cruelty in Detroit.
“Right now, what we do is focus on assisting local and federal law enforcement in dog fighting raids,” McLaughlin said. “And we have a shelter (location undisclosed), because we have to put those dogs into live evidence – we call it ‘pit-ness protection.’ We can have anywhere from 30 to 150 dogs at any time that are live evidence, that our team of 70 volunteers takes care of. And we make sure they get enrichment and veterinary care, teach them that humans are awesome – and that they can be dogs.”
Once those animals are no longer live evidence, shelter partners across the nation take them on to enable the dogs’ adoptions. Some Bark Nation dogs have traveled as far as Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Apparently, the pandemic has done little to slow down dog fighting, with Bark Nation rescuing some 240 dogs.
“And since things have been opening back up, we’ve taken in another 200 in this time span,” McLaughlin said. “So, we’re not letting up anytime soon, because we really want to combat this. What’s really neat is we actually assist the law enforcement – when they get the people out of the home, we go and get all the dogs from their chains. And we actually see them from chains to charges. We are witnesses, we get up and testify to the condition of the animals as well.”
Bark Nation also has its own veterinarians – all volunteers.
After giving a thorough description of the organization and its mission, it was time to head back to the dog holding area to serve up the KONGsgiving treats. As expected, the barking quickly reached a crescendo as the 17 dogs in residence that day enthusiastically greeted the visitors. And, one by one, the tasty KONGs were presented – and well-received. And, one voice at a time, the room got quieter as the dogs became occupied with their treats.
After touring the facility, including its much quieter Cat Room with its current 15 cats, and the roofed outdoor dog enclosures, both McLaughlin and Gilshire were effusive in their admiration for the quality of the “happy shelter” and its staff. That admiration grew still more after seeing the original small block building from which the current award-winning shelter has evolved.
“I am so impressed,” McLaughlin said. “This is beautiful. And your dogs are so happy – that speaks volumes for how they’re taken care of.”
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