This just in: Bentley the dog has a home!
I just got a call from the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA, which informed me that Bentley, the boxer-St. Bernard Mix who’d become a local cause after a neighbor started trying to find him a home on the St. Lawrence University ListServ, has indeed found a home!
Bentley the dog. Photo: Frances Weller Bailey
I don’t have the details on who the owners are but this is great news. It’s also a great moment to remind everyone who’s thinking about getting a dog or cat, that the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA and other shelters like it are wonderful places to find one.
Jessie, our shelter dog. Photo: John Stanford
St. Lawrence Valley SPCA still has many dogs and cats available for adoption, and here’s a list of shelters in New York State.
On a personal note, we got our dog Jessie at a shelter (and she’s far from the only shelter dog in my life) and I can’t imagine having made a better decision.
Jessie is great-looking dog, Nora. And that’s indeed good news about Bentley.
There really are some amazing shelters in the North Country that do truly heroic work. I’d like to give recognition to two that I am personally familiar with.
The North Country SPCA in Westport (www.ncspca.org) does an incredible job of taking in and caring for animals, even though the building is just about crumbling around them. They are raising money for a new shelter right now and I really hope they make it. You can check out their website if you would like to help them get there.
The SPCA of Upstate NY in Queensbury (www.spcauny.org) not only does a wonderful job with local animals in need, but they also arrange to have animals from kill shelters in southern states (usually Tennessee, it seems) brought to their facility for a second chance at life. It is not uncommon for them to have litters of pure breed dogs too, if that is your thing (I am more a mutt kinda guy myself)
I’m lucky enough to have adopted form both of these shelters… I too can’t imagine having made a better decision.