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It takes true animal lovers working endless hours to give hundreds of cats and dogs a
good home — and Sterile Feral, with help from the Rome community, is doing just that.
The nonprofit group, which has been rescuing animals since December of 1999, has a
number of volunteers who help with retrieving, spay/neuter, adoptions, fund-raising and
general visiting and cleaning.
“We’re really a hands-on group,” said Pat Hutchings, secretary and treasurer of the
group. “Everyone has a niche.”
“We’re out in the community every day,” President Jane Berry said.
Though it started out saving only cats, Berry said, Sterile Feral has “slowly but surely
grown into more.”
For example, if an owner has a cat that has just had kittens, Sterile Feral will take the
kittens, spay/neuter them, give them shots and post their pictures on www.
thesterileferal.petfinder.com for adoption.
“We like for them to have a caretaker ready and to make sure that they are being fed,”
said Berry, who has 19 dogs of her own.
But that does not limit them from attempting to find homes for animals at the Rome-
Floyd Animal Control Center or those who show up at their doorstep, like a Siberian
husky named Arctic. “Somebody dropped him off one night,” Berry said. “But he’s a
great dog.”
The group currently houses about 134 dogs and 90 cats. Sterile Feral requires that
adopters go through an application process. “We tell some people ‘no,’” said Director of
Fund Raising Bill Hutchings, who, with his wife, has 11 cats and nine basset hounds.
“Pet ownership is a lifetime project,” said volunteer Larry Madden.
If new guardians are not satisfied with their pets, the animals are returned to Sterile
Feral so another home may be found. This helps avoid taking animals to Animal
Control, where they are kept for 72 hours before being euthanized.
Rescuing animals takes effort by the group.
Carol Adams, director of adoptions, goes to Animal Control and takes digital photos of
the “most adoptable” animals and posts them on the Web site. “I call it ‘the aisle of
eyes’ — that dim corridor at Animal Control with tiny faces peering between the bars,”
she stated in a recent newsletter.
More than 160 animals have been adopted through the Web site “that we know of,”
Adams said.
Most volunteers are foster parents who keep more than just dogs and cats. They have
saved pigs, snakes, birds, a hamster and rabbits and bottle-fed a goat and llama.
“We work more now than we did before we retired,” said Pat Hutchings.
Sterile Feral has something most pet-adoption organizations do not have the money for
— a medical facility.
And this is where the community comes in. Area hospitals have donated surgical
materials, bed pads (used for the animal pins before and after surgery) and even a
sterilization machine. Area veterinarians donate expertise too.
“We do dog spay/neuter here, unless there is a special circumstance, but we take the
animals to the vet for rabies shots and cat spay/neuter,” Berry said.
Kmart donates any opened containers of dog or cat food to the group, and Sears has
donated a washer and dryer.
Medicines and microchips (used to identify lost or stolen animals) are purchased at
discounted prices due to their nonprofit status.
If someone in another state finds an animal on the Web site, a flight attendant from
Delta has volunteered to oversee the transport, which is free.
The group has three volunteers, ranging from ages 4 to 10, whose sole purpose is to
play with the animals.
“If it wasn’t for our community, we would be nonexistent,” said Berry. “The community
has been very good to us.”
The group receives donations and owns a thrift store next door to the office on
Kingston Avenue, used for raising money. Pat Hutchings even sells antiques on eBay to
raise money for animal care.
“And every penny goes to the animals,” said Berry.
One of the largest fund-raisers for the animals is the annual Project Pet.
This year’s event will be Sept. 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the office and thrift store.
Various breeds of dogs and cats will be up for adoption, and a vet will be there from 9 a.
m. to noon administering rabies shots for $7.50.
“Dogs must be on a leash and cats must be in a carrying cage,” said Bill Hutchings.
A yard sale and bake sale will raise money for medicines and supplies for the dogs and
cats, and The Pet Connection and the Rome-Floyd Humane Society also will be
participating.
The group also makes adoptions one step easier for those who cannot afford to get
pets spayed or neutered (a requirement), providing additional funding that can be
added to a coupon given by the Humane Society.
“Our goal is to help the animals,” said Berry.
Anyone interested in adopting an animal, volunteering or donating money should visit
www.thesterileferal.petfinder.com, www.thesterileferal.org or contact the group at 232-
2418