Farmer determined to find home for puppies

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard

This litter of seven puppies was left on the side of the road at approximately 3 weeks old. To adopt any of the puppies, call the animal shelter at 473-5720 or Beth Farmer at 815-3478. (James Clark photo)

Beth Farmer is naturally sympathetic to animals. As an employee at Warren County’s animal shelter, it’s her job to care for unwanted pets every day.

But it especially catches her attention when animals are abandoned at the side of the road. That’s exactly what happened last week when a litter of seven puppies, about 3 weeks old, was found in a box in the Altamont area.

“I’m going to make sure I find a home for them personally,” said Farmer, who hasn’t taken the puppies to the shelter but is instead keeping them at her home.

She confesses she has even grown attached to one of them. “I think I’m going to have to keep this one,” she says holding up her favorite scruffy, brown puppy.

Keeping the puppies has not been easy, especially considering their age. Farmer says she’s had to bottle feed the puppies, who would normally still be nursing their mother’s milk.

When asked about the current conditions at the animal shelter, Farmer echoed sentiments which have been heard many times before.

“There are a lot of people who just don’t care,” she said. “If we’re not open and the gate is locked, they’ll just dump the animals outside the gate. I’ve come in some mornings when the animal has been thrown over the gate.”

A litter of kittens was left outside the shelter gate earlier this week. Shelter employees were still rounding up the kittens Thursday morning from bushes and underneath piles of debris at the neighboring garbage collection center.