ELIZABETHTOWN — Karen Suggs saw the opportunity. Her heart didn’t miss a beat for the animals she cares for, and the job she loves.
Because of her efforts, Bladen County Animal Control and Shelter has received a $50,000 grant from the Petco Foundation. It’ll be used to build a quarantine and puppy area at the shelter. The means to an end will limit the transmission of life-threatening illnesses among sick dogs.
“We are grateful to the Petco Foundation for the monies provided, and especially to Karen Suggs, who took the initiative to apply for the grant and whose passion for animals is evident each and every day in work,” said Dr. Terri Duncan in a prepared statement. She’s the director of the county’s Health and Human Services Department.
Duncan told an audience Monday night at the county commissioners meeting that Suggs saw the opportunity and had only about three days to make the application. In accordance with a county incentive policy, commissioners presented her with a check and a framed token of appreciation, reading in part, that she “has given exceptional service and has attained special recognition.”
The quarantine area helps decrease the length of time dogs stay in the shelter due to illness and decreases the number of dogs euthanized due to illness, a release said.
The shelter is open door, providing shelter and care to stray or surrendered dogs. Since 2010, the live release rate has increased 7 percent. The new quarantine area is expected to move that number even higher.
The Petco Foundation has invested more than $250 million in life-saving animal welfare work since 1999.
Karen Suggs (middle), flanks by Dr. Terri Duncan (right) and Chairman Charles Ray Peterson, accepts a token of appreciation from county commissioners at Monday’s meeting. Suggs made the application for the animal shelter to get a $50,000 grant, which will be used to build a new quarantine and puppy area.