Friday, February 22, 2008 8:19 PM CST
Drug court grad rescues abandoned pets
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Jeff Seafler didn’t need long to think about whether he wanted to take on getting donations for pets left homeless after their owners’ drug arrests, or animals that were abandoned for other reasons, too.
Seafler is set to graduate from Coles County’s drug court program next month and needed a public service project. As it turned out, the Coles County Meth Awareness Coalition was looking for a way to help animals, and coalition President Ke’an Rogers approached him about doing it.
“I liked it the minute she mentioned it,” Seafler said. “I’m an animal lover myself.”
The Meth Coalition is a volunteer group that works on ways to combat the county’s drug problem and to help people affected by it. Another recent project for the coalition was to get donations of supplies for children removed from homes where drug use has been suspected, and Seafler’s work is “kind of a spin-off” of that, Rogers said.
“The other little creatures involved are pets,” she said. “I think this is a great project for him.”
Seafler is calling the project “Carepacks for Canines & Cats” and said he plans to assemble the supplies that are donated into packages that the Coles County Animal Rescue and Education Center can give to people who adopt the animals. Rogers said the packs will be “kind of an incentive” for the new owners to take the animals.
Seafler also said he’ll complete two years’ of drug court in March. He said he’s grateful for the program, in which drug suspects plead guilty and undergo regular court appearances, treatment and other programs, in some cases leading to having their charges dismissed.
“It’s definitely a positive influence,” he said. “It has got my life back on track.”
CARE Center Manager Julie Deters said the shelter often gets animals coming from “not the best circumstances” and welcomes help in finding homes for them. The animals might need training, and they could need foster homes if their owners’ court cases go on for a long period of time, she said.
“It’s great anytime the public is made aware of the situation,” Deters said.
Deters added that the shelter doesn’t get that many animals from homes of drug arrests, but there are always other situations where it can use help with abandoned pets. She said the shelter sometimes gets calls about a dog tied up or locked in a house while the owner’s in jail, for example.
“We get lots of different situations,” she said.
Items donated can be taken to the animal shelter at 6818 N. County Road 1120E, located on Loxa Road south of Illinois Route 16. Pickup of donations can be arranged by calling Rogers at 581-7193.
The project will take items for dogs or cats, including leashes, collars, toys, food, treats, beds, blankets, shampoo and other hygiene or grooming items, cleaning supplies for the shelter, bags to use to assemble the packs, dog crates and dog houses. The Mars Pet Care pet food plant north of Mattoon is donating food to the program.
Rogers said anyone who wants to check on whether an item can be donated can call her or the shelter at 345-4112.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.
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Rotty wrote on Feb 23, 2008 12:32 AM: