Theresa McCraw, a pet rescuer in Rutherford Co, NC, was shot to death last weekend. Her estranged husband has been charged with her murder. Ms. McCraw worked tirelessly to help shelter pets at the Rutherford Co Animal Control shelter. She intended to foster pets during the facility’s Christmas closing in order to save their lives. Now that she’s dead, the pound is planning to go ahead with its closing as scheduled and kill the pets today so they don’t need to be cared for over the holiday.
The county facility’s website makes no mention of the emergency but does list the normal operating hours and contact information:
The shelter is located at 578 Laurel Hill Drive in Rutherfordton. Phone number is (828) 287-6025 or (828)287-6420 – Fax number (828) 287-6373. PLEASE if you need assistance on the animals that are in the shelter or the ones we have for adoption call the Community Pet Center volunteer office at (828) 287-7738 after 12:00P.M.
This pound is a Maddie’s Fund grant recipient. In 2010, it killed 65% of the pets in its care. I suppose it should come as no surprise that it plans to kill pets for Christmas but I just can not stomach this. The woman who would have saved these pets was brutally murdered and the pound’s tribute to her is more killing?
Please help spread the word about this situation. Can Maddie’s Fund help by offering financial assistance to board the pets for Christmas or working with the county in some other way to save the lives of these pets? Can HSUS, ASPCA or Best Friends offer any financial or other assistance? Please ask around to any contacts you may have within these organizations and share the news with individual rescuers as well. There are plenty of ways these needless killings can be avoided, even if Rutherford Co doesn’t realize the shame in its threat. I only hope something good can happen in time.
(Thank you to reader Karen for alerting me to this story.)