 Pawsing to Help by Bonnie Bowles Helping hands at the Humane Society of Searcy are closing the generation gap. Vern Peters, age 83, and Journey McCarty, 13, spend much of their time volunteering at the shelter helping with the upkeep of both the property and the animals. The buildings at the Humane Society of Searcy are high maintenance, and the staff already has enormous responsibilities in keeping the place clean and the animals cared for without worrying about building upkeep. Without regular repairs, however, a building can fall apart in a matter of a few years, not decades. Additionally, the buildings are constantly in use. The animals never leave. Volunteers since the shelter opened in 1991, Vern and his wife, Retha, have devoted their time and energies into helping the animals. The couple donated the shelter's first washer and dryer. (Two or three washer-dryer sets have come and gone since then.) Recently, Vern has spent several days at the shelter hammering, sawing, bending and plying the place into shape. "The shelter has come a long way," Retha said. "It was just a big metal building with 10 kennels." Since then, the shelter has expanded to house a quarantine room, a kitty kennel, a dog kennel, and a nomad room, where spayed or neutered cats can roam free to play with potential adopters. Additionally, the Humane Society has an outdoor kennel and two buildings that house The Barkin' Barn, a weekend thrift shop that benefits the society. In the past year, Vern has fixed the main building's leaky roof, divided the four outdoor kennels into eight smaller kennels so more animals can be housed, and built shelves for the Barkin' Barn. He also goes out to the shelter, mows the lawn, and does landscaping on Saturdays. If Vern did not personally perform all of the work, he supervised the work release crews. According to Fonda McCarty, Journey's mother and fellow volunteer, Vern was respectful of the workers. Fonda said Vern did not give anyone a "joy ride," but he was fair and considerate with everyone. "He's one of the most amazing beings I've ever known," Fonda said. "I feel very privileged to know him and his wife. He's unique; I've been glad my daughter could get to know him." Fonda described Vern as being a hard worker who always comes back for more. She said Vern is always seen with a tool in hand and is very goal-oriented. Fonda's daughter has many of the same character traits. Journey and her activism achieved local celebrity status in April when Liz Massey of KTHV in Little Rock featured her on the "Everyone Has a Story" segment, recognizing Journey's devotion to the animals brought on by volunteering at an early age. "I've been out here since I was four, pretty much doing everything from washing dogs, giving baths, taking in adoptions, just about everything," Journey said. According to Journey, she feels comfortable around the animals; that comfort translates into a dedication to getting the animals adopted and cared for. "I just love being around the animals because I can be myself," Journey said. "I like working with animals better than with people. I can be myself around them and they don't care. They just want to find a home, and they love anybody." Journey has goals and desires for the shelter. She regularly takes on specific animals as causes, trying to find individual homes and speaks and acts passionately for her pet cause. "My biggest goal, besides all the animals getting a home, is probably a new building," Journey said. "I'd really love to remodel or something. We've talked about remodeling, but it's never really happened. I would just love a new building." Journey cited the need for larger facilities as a main reason for a new building. The cat kennels are small, especially for full-grown cats. Also, a larger building would offer the opportunity to rescue more animals. To help the shelter achieve this goal, Journey has bypassed receiving birthday presents, asking instead for donations to the shelter multiple times. While she wishes for more change, Journey said she would like more people to come out and see the improvements already made. "I think that when most people think of a shelter, they think of a smelly, nasty place, and we've done a lot of remodeling. This [the mural in the nomad room] was just recently done by Deborah Wolf," Journey said. "I think the city of Searcy should know that if they come out here, they're going to be really shocked by all the changes we've done." The Humane Society of Searcy is open to the public from 3pm - 5pm daily. The Barkin' Barn is open 7am-12pm on the first and third Saturdays of the month, and all proceeds go to the shelter. |
