New nonprofit helps Berrien Animal Control up its game

By LOUISE WREGE

HP Staff Writer

BENTON TOWNSHIP — Life was looking grim when a dog later called “Icabod” arrived at Berrien County Animal Control earlier this summer.

Director Tiffany Peterson said that the German shorthaired mix was found with a cable embedded in his neck in the Niles area. The cable had been there so long that maggots were in the wound.

“What happened was somebody tied the dog outside (with) a red-coated cable,” she said. “Instead of using a collar, they wrapped (the cable) around the dog’s neck and what happens is it gets too tight. It happens over a period of time that it starts to grow into the dog’s neck.”

Surgery was needed to save Icabod’s life, but Animal Control didn’t have the funds to pay for it, even with a local veterinarian donating his time.

That’s when she reached out to the Friends of Berrien County Animal Control, a nonprofit group that was formed in February.

Katherine Francis is president of the nonprofit and a volunteer at Animal Control. She said they were happy to help pay the $1,300 needed for the surgery and aftercare.

Francis met Icabod while he recovered.

“You could see where the cable had been and you had to be gentle with him, but he was just as sweet a dog as there is,” Francis said. “He was absolutely lovely. Their trust of people is extraordinary after what they’ve gone through. It’s amazing.”

Peterson said Icabod is now living his best life with an adopted family. Without the help from the nonprofit, she said she would have had to turn to her network of rescue groups to find one that could take on Icabod’s challenges and costs.

“We’ve gotten better with having this group,” Peterson said. “Instead of having to ask another shelter or rescue to always take our problem dogs, we can take care of some of them ourselves.”

Francis said the nonprofit can apply for grants and do other things that Animal Control, as a government entity, can’t do. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the nonprofit’s fundraising efforts.

Besides helping pay for emergency veterinary care, she said they want to help pay for heartworm prevention and treatment, and for flea and tick medicine. She said they would also like to fund behavioral training so that the dogs and cats at the shelter are more adoptable.

“We’d like to be able to provide more equipment for them, agility equipment, things like that, to make the

See NONPROFIT, page A10

LEFT: Tiffany Peterson, director of Berrien County Animal Control, poses recently with “Icabod,” who arrived in June with a cable embedded in his neck before he was treated back to good health with the assistance of a newly formed nonprofit group. RIGHT: “Gibbs” was brought to Berrien County Animal Control over the summer with a tow truck chain embedded in his neck.

Photos provided / Berrien County Animal Control

From page A1

dogs’ lives, while they’re living there, better and to show them off to their best so they can be adopted,” Francis said.

To donate online or for more information, go to www. friendsofbcac.org. The group can also be reached on their Facebook page – Friends of Berrien County Animal Control. Checks can be sent to: Friends of Berrien County Animal Control, P.O. Box 12, Riverside, MI 49084.

Icabod wasn’t the only dog that came to Animal Control in rough shape this summer. Peterson said a Rottweiler they named “Gibbs” was rescued with a tow-truck chain embedded in his neck.

“He is such a nice dog. We got it out, but there was a big hunk of skin that had to come out,” she said.

After healing, Peterson said they also found a nice home for Gibbs.

What helped is that both dogs were around 3-yearsold and were in otherwise fairly good health. But it was a challenge to help the dogs recuperate. She said that the dogs had to be kept calm after surgery so they didn’t dislodge drainage tubes put in place temporarily to help the healing process.

Trap, neuter and return

Francis said the nonprofit also wants to help fund Animal Control’s efforts to keep the population of feral cats down through a trap, neuter and return program.

Peterson said they hope to do this with their first feral cat colony later this fall. She said that trapping and removing feral cats from an area doesn’t work because more cats just move in. By neutering the males and returning them to the site, she said that keeps other cats from moving in.

“It takes years to see a difference, but if we have willing parties that help, we can make a difference,” she said.

More information can be found on their Facebook page – Berrien County Animal Control – Berrien County Government.

Contact: lwrege@TheHP.com, 932-0361, Twitter: @HPWrege