MILES WAS MURDERED by the "Board"!!

Reader upset that a dog was euthanized

Miles, a dog at the Clinton Humane Society was put down July 11 with a lethal injection. His death would not occasion a letter to the editor if Miles were not a very special dog. Months ago several of us associated with the shelter raised thousands of dollars in the community to provide Miles with necessary but expensive surgery. During the fundraising however, a few CHS board members complained that the money raised for Miles was "misspent" since it was only ticketed for one dog. What about all the other dogs at the shelter, they asked.

The answer we provided was that the money would not have been raised at all if it weren't for Miles, so it could hardly have been misspent. Moreover, in our two fundraisers for him, Miles his picture in many stories had taken on a kind of symbolic value; he stood for all the animals at the shelter when he received his surgery, we argued, it would provide a "feel-good story" for a community ravaged by foreclosures and rising unemployment.

Finally, the money raised had not yet even been spent because the veterinarian recommended delay until the dog was stronger.

The skeptical board members seemed mollified by our arguments and Miles was kept at the shelter awaiting his surgery. But during this time and ugly and unrelated fight broke out amongst a few board members. As a result, this spring I was asked to leave the board; my wife Pat who had volunteered countless hours at the shelter over many years was told she was no longer welcome there; and we have heard the shelter administrator is no longer there. (Coincidentally, all three of us had been outspoken advocates for Miles, and Pat had scoured the community raising money for him).

On July 11, with the board authorization and approval, Miles was put down with lethal injection. He never received his surgery.

None of us involved in the fundraising and who made very large contributions of our own, were notified either before the dog was put down or afterwards. None of us, that is was given an opportunity to adopt the dog and provide the surgery he needed at our own expense. Perhaps most importantly because it affects the trust we have in our shelter, the good-faith gesture of a community that raised thousands of dollars in a time of severe recession has been compromised if not betrayed.

Roger Fraser
Clinton

Who Was Miles?....

For one look, one soul, one heart, one very special dog that has touched the hearts of the staff at the Clinton Humane Society.

The Clinton Humane Society is holding a very special fundraiser for a very special dog. His name is Miles and we are going the extra "Mile" to give him a life. Humane Society's do not generally hold fund raising events for surgeries such as this, for each day we are short staffed and underfunded. Each day we must try to figure out how to take care of all the animals at the shelter and all the animals we love.

Many of these dear animals make us smile and laugh, we admire their spirit when they have come through abuse and neglect. We rejoice when they find new homes or rescue programs that accept them. Our hearts break when we cannot help them and we must say good bye. They all touch our hearts, some more than others. The shelter staff is very good at not getting too close and still giving more love than we can give. We are very good at protecting our hearts, because we know how much we have to give of our hearts daily. We have to divy it up fairly you know. But…there are those animals that sneak in our picket fences and they open the gate to our hearts. You cannot help but love them; they will not have it any other way.

Miles is one of these dogs. He has touched each staff member's heart; he has made us happy and loved us when we have been sad. He seems to make the hard days easier, when he lays his big head in your lap or gives you a very sloppy but loving kiss. His heart is kind and patient and he is just a big goof of a dog.
So for this one dog we are going to go the extra "Mile" to give him a chance at a happy life. We owe him that. He has already paid us back tri-fold.

As his flier says, his problem is no fault of his own. It is due to poor care and nutrition when he was growing. He needs a new hip and new hips do not come cheap. But with the help of a local vet our cost will be a bit less for all of his care. Without this surgery, he has no chance at life at all. Some will ask why so much for one dog. There are so many others.

This we understand with all of our hearts, this we truly understand. We work with them each and every day. We wish we could help them all. We wish we could give them everything. But we cannot. This one dog has touched us, and this one dog is going to receive all we have to give him. This one dog gives us hope. We are fund raising and publicizing his plight.

Poor DEAD Miles

Money for Miles

To everyone that has participated in the fund raising effort for our Mr. Miles... THANK YOU!

We have reached our goal as of today. We are at $5045.42 for his surgery.

In speaking with the veterinarian, his surgery is scheduled sometime this month.
Miles will have 2-3 months of recovery and rehabilitation.
AND… then on to a great life with a new family

He has been in training and can now sit, wait, shake with both paws and he loves to play with stuffies.
He has been socializing and playing with other dogs. His leash training is a bit behind due to weather conditions. He is just a playful big boy.

Bow Wow, Woof and Bark from Mr. Miles and all the homeless dogs that say thank you for caring and giving some of them second chances and a new and happy life.

R.I.P. Miles!