by Amy Roundtree
Waycross, Georgia
Everyone knows where the Okefenokee Humane Society is, but people don’t usually go there unless they’re getting rid of an unwanted litter of kittens or puppies.
Now, locals don’t even have to make the trip out Blackwell Street to see the animals that are available for adoption.
A new web site,
www.okefenokeehumanesociety.org, was created by a group of local volunteers who, coincidentally, got together on another website, an Internet message board named “
The Green Screen.”
The Humane Society web site is only one of many community service projects the “Greenies” have completed,
which doesn’t surprise the man behind the local news and opinion site at www.wareopednews.com.
“The traffic at Ware Op-Ed & News has steadily grown each year since we launched on Aug. 20, 2001. The Green Screen is probably the most popular page. A lot of heated discussion breaks out there sometimes; a lot of trivial stuff, too. But there’s a surprising degree of camaraderie among posters also even though, in many cases, they have no idea of who each other is. Consequently, it’s not uncommon now for every body to come together to support a charitable cause. You never know what’s going to set it off,” said David B. Shields, owner and administrator of Ware Op-Ed & News. “We’ve pitched in to pay vet bills for a stray dog, found homes for animals, helped a few individuals down on their luck and the like. Now we’ve come together to help out the local Humane Society. This is the kind of thing I like best about our web site.”
Greenies have also given money to support the Okefenokee Humane Society, having chosen the shelter as the recipient of funds raised for a fish fry dinner.
While several board participants helped with the project and raised money, two “Greenie Gals” in particular, Lori Sands and Michelle Mundling, worked on the website.
Sands took photos of animals available for adoption and also organized the fish fry dinner, and Mundling designed the website. They both spearheaded the project out of love.
“My dad instilled a love for animals in me at a very early age,” said Sands. “It didn’t matter what kind of animal it was or how sick it was, my daddy would take it and make it better. We would set wild animals free back into the woods when they were healthy and we would find homes for abandoned dogs or cats.”
She said that her love for “pound puppies” also developed after she and her husband picked out their first dog at the animal shelter.
“I can’t hardly stand looking at all those perfectly healthy friendly animals whose only crime is not having a home that wants them,” said Sands. “I’m getting involved for the purpose of helping them find homes that are perfect for them and for their new owners. There is a perfect dog or cat out there for anyone who is willing to open their heart to a pet. I hope a few hours and clicks from a camera will change the lives of these pets and their owners.”
Photos taken by Sands are featured on the website, and also are displayed in the Wal-Mart pet department.
Mundling also said love was her inspiration for designing the website.
“Being an animal lover, the Humane Society is an organization near and dear to my heart,” said Mundling, who is an employee of the Department of Corrections and who owns and operates a web site named “The Mundling Zone” in her spare time. “It takes more than money to find homes for the abandoned and unwanted animals that are brought to them on a daily basis. I like working in web design, and they needed a web site, so I volunteered. It’s deeply satisfying to know that I’m helping those who can’t speak for themselves.”
Humane Society Director Kaye Thompson said she’s already seen a good response from the new website, and she was exceptionally thankful for the additional publicity.
“Sometimes people don’t want to come out here to volunteer or see what they can do to help because they think they’ll want to take an animal home, or they think it’s too sad,” Thompson, who has been in charge at the shelter since its inception nearly 20 years ago. “For so long I felt that nobody was helping and I wondered if anybody cared. Turns out there were a lot of people who care, they just didn’t know what to do. Really any help we get is appreciated.”
Thompson said that four animals have been adopted since the website went up in mid-June, and she’s gotten several phone inquiries as well.
“We have to euthanize so many animals because there are so many that come in here every day of the week,” she said. “If it keeps one animal from getting euthanized, I believe it’s a success. I just want to have a better life for these sweet little animals.”
Reprinted from the Thursday, June 30, 2005 edition of the Waycross Journal-Herald. The Journal-Herald edited out the text in red above before printing it. Note from Michelle: Amy Roundtree is a fellow greenie and is married to Eric Roundtree, president of Prinux LLC and Prinux Design. Mr. Roundtree is the same one who repaired my computer and has generously donated the domain name and web space for the Humane Society web site. One thing Mr. Shields left out of his statement is that we greenies have collected money to buy gifts for nursing home residents for Christmas.
