A second chance for Stella

P�m�k�n P�t�h D�y�

Sat. & Sun. in October, 10am - 3pm

October 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 & 30

• Three (3) minutes of jumping on our jump pad • Grain train ride • Pick out a free mini pumpkin • Get a glitter tattoo (get your face painted for $5 extra) • Pet the farm animals (feed them for $3 extra) • Play on the playground with 40-foot slide • Concession stand with food and beverages • Purchase photos with our photo ops for great family photos • We’ll also be selling pumpkins by the pound during the week; however, no activities will be taking place.

Use NWO2022 for $3 o each ticket

(online only)

$18 per person, plus tax and fees (ages 2 and under FREE) Tickets available at the gate or online (cash only at the gate) mclaurinfarms.com/pumpkin-patch

A second chance for Stella

Rescued beagle learns to trust as she adapts to her new home and packmates

by ANNETTE JOYCE

Donna Rogers, an avid dog lover, is on a mission to help address the overpopulation of dogs in shelters, rescue organizations and on the streets.

“If everyone who has a dog would take in another dog, the problem would be solved,” she said with the hint of a smile.

While that may seem a bit farfetched, Rogers, who owns Bill’s Pizza Pub restaurants in Oak Ridge and in Greensboro, is so adamant about doing her part that, just a few weeks ago, she brought home a third rescue dog to join her other two rescues, Mya, an American bulldog mix, and Chloe, a hound mix.

The 2-year-old beagle that Rogers named Stella came from a particularly devastating situation – she’s one of about 4,000 beagles that were rescued this past July from Envigo, a mass breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia.

According to an article published in The New York Times on July 12 and updated July 28, conditions in the facility were horrific.

“Several inspections of the Envigo breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, over the past two years found dozens of violations of federal regulations, leaving the beagles underfed, ill, injured and, in some cases, dead,” the article read.

During her time at Envigo, Stella had been bred about every six months. She was housed in a cramped, barren cage in one of several sheds that stretched along an area as long as a football field. With hundreds of dogs crammed into the buildings, the noise from the constant barking was described as being “louder than a rock concert.”

Like the other beagles, Stella was treated as a product to be sold to laboratories for experimentation purposes. There was little human interaction and no concern for how the dogs were handled. Fortunately, the facility has been closed and barred from breeding, selling, or experimenting on any dogs.

Although Rogers knew a dog coming from this situation would be a challenge, she wanted to help, so when she learned Triangle Beagle Rescue (TriBeagles), a nonprofit in the Raleigh-Chapel Hill area, had a group of the rescues, she put in her application and was accepted.

Rogers said the day she picked Stella up to bring her home, the little dog was petrified.

“I had to put her in a crate to come home,” Rogers recalled. “By the time I got home, she was covered in slobber. She was just so afraid.”

When Stella arrived at her new home, she initially didn’t want anything to do with Rogers or the other two dogs in the home.

“In the beginning, she stayed in the back of her crate, and I needed to pull her out,” Rogers said.

Stella has now been in the household for about six weeks, and Rogers said she is noticing slow but definite progress. Stella is already starting to bond with Rogers, Mya and Chloe, and is feisty enough that if one of the other dogs has a toy, she doesn’t hesitate to take it away.

Photo by

Annette Joyce/NWO Donna Rogers and her rescued beagle, Stella, have formed a strong bond in the six weeks they’ve been together.

“She’s still afraid of men and I have to pick her up a lot,” Rogers said. “She’s also nervous around anybody she’s not familiar with.”

Rogers realizes that she’ll probably never be able to board Stella in a kennel when she goes out of town.

“I took the other girls to a kennel and Stella could hear all the other dogs barking,” she said. “She was so upset that she peed and vomited.”

Because she came from such an isolated and confined environment, Stella has required a lot of time and patience as she works on socializing with people and other dogs, and as she is exposed to different environments.

“You have to be accommodating and willing to change with a dog like this,” Rogers said.

While Rogers said rescuing a dog may be considered admirable, it requires a special kind of commitment and isn’t for everyone.

Working with rescues calls for a tremendous amount of patience, she noted, stressing that nothing happens overnight.

“Just be real patient and expect the process to be back and forth,” she said. “You’ll take some steps forward and some backwards.”

Rogers said when she first started rescuing dogs, she heard some basic guidelines that have helped her better understand and help them as they adapt to their new surroundings.

“They say it takes three days for a dog to get acclimated to their new spot, three weeks to feel safe in the environment and three months to feel like they’re part of the pack,” she said.

As Stella sits calmly in Rogers’s lap, it’s obvious that this once seriously mistreated pup is making her own place in her new pack and enjoying this second chance in life.

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Autumn Harvest Jubilee Sat., Oct. 15, 10am to 4pm

Stokesdale United Methodist Church 8305 Loyola Drive, Stokesdale Come get a head start on your holiday shopping with 30+ artisans/makers and cra ers. Plus food, kids’ cra s, live animals and lots of fun!

A Purple Wagon Event

For more information please email purplewagonevents@gmail.com

NORTHWEST

ANIMAL HOSPITAL

(336) 643-8984

Loving care for pets and their families

Cats need second chances, too!

Sheets Pet Clinic, a full-service vet clinic in Greensboro, provides a low-cost spay/neuter service, rescue rates to animal nonprofits, and hosts a cat adoption program. With an ever-growing population of homeless cats, the clinic seeks foster homes for cats, volunteers to help care for them, donations to cover the cost of their food and care, and adopters willing to provide a forever home. For The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996 more info, visit Facebook.com/SheetsPetClinic or email Sarah Hodges, cat adoption coordinator, at petadoptions@sheetspetclinic.com.

Full-service medicine, surgery and dentistry Surgical and therapeutic laser

Wendy Camp, DVM 1692-J NC Hwy 68 N, Oak Ridge • (336) 643-8984 www.nw-animal-hospital.com