Vial
ELKINS — Elkins City Council has been asked to consider joining with the Randolph County Commission in a partnership to promote spay and neutering of animals.
Tina Vial, president of the Randolph County Humane Society Board of Directors, spoke before council on Nov. 4.
“This is my 10th year in that role, and it’s one of the passions of my life,” Vial said. “I’m very grateful to be able to serve the community in this way.”
Vial also introduced Kelly Scheidegger, who has been the Humane Society’s animal shelter manager for 20 years.
“We’re known as a no-kill shelter but that’s a little bit of a misnomer,” Vial said. “We like to say that we do not euthanize healthy, adoptable animals to make room for more healthy, adoptable animals because that just doesn’t make sense to us.
“We have worked very hard — Kelly specifically — over the last decade to change that perception, and we’ve been very successful with that. We have seven staff and dozens of volunteers who walk dogs and come cuddle cats and work at events when we’re able to have them. We managed to keep all of our staff and stay open through the pandemic and that’s quite a feat.”
Vial said the Humane Society’s officials are “very grateful” for the community’s support.
“When we ask for help, they step up. It’s good to know that we have an entire community behind us, not just in the city but in the county as well,” she said.
“We serve somewhere between 700 and 1,000 animals a year,” Vial added. “About 150 to 200 on any given year from the city specifically. We also serve as custodial care for all legal cases in the county and the city. So if the animal control officer picks up an animal, it comes to us for the duration of that case.
“We also provide emergency pet food assistance, and straw during cold weather to help insulate animals, and other specific needs as they arise, geared toward keeping animals and their families together,” she said.
Vial asked City Council to consider providing financial support for the Humane Society.
“We have an annual budget of about $325,000. Eighty thousand of that comes from the county,” she said. “We currently do not receive any funding from the city, though we do have a request pending for some funding for spay and neuter, and that is our greatest need.
“Of the about 300 spay/neuter vouchers that we’ve distributed in 2021, for the city that took care of about 30 dogs and about 65 cats that are privately owned, and about 30 community cats.
“What our community calls us and asks us for help with the most is getting their animals spayed and neutered,” Vial said.
She suggested the city and county could work together as part of a “partnership blitz.”
“It costs us about $100 an animal to get them spayed or neutered,” Vial said. “We would love to do a partnership blitz with the city and the county together. During the winter months especially, before kitten season hits and our vets are overrun.”
Mayor Jerry Marco thanked Vial for the presentation and for her and Kelly Scheidegger’s service. There was no discussion regarding funding for the Humane Society during the remainder of the meeting.
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