Something magical happened when we visited STAR – Saving the Animals of Rowan in Rowan County, Kentucky, close to the Ohio border. It’s only happened on one other of the 150+ shelter visits we’ve made.
(And maybe this won’t seem magical to people who have never walked through a shelter’s kennels) The dogs were quiet!
Rhonda, a STAR board member led us into the small shelter (the former county dog pound) to meet the dogs. No barking, no lunging at the fence, no spinning, just quiet dogs. Some stayed on their Kuranda beds, but most came to the front of the kennel to see us.
And no, the dogs hadn’t been drugged. They hadn’t even been outside to play because it was raining hard. It was 8:30 in the morning, so they’d had breakfast, and their kennels were clean.
STAR’s shelter looks like a typical pound, but that’s where the similarities stop. The dogs were calm and content because they get so much human interaction and outside play time together on a daily basis.
The small building has only ten kennels and is surrounded by a tall fence. When the workers come to clean, the dogs are let out to run and play outside in the small area around the shelter.
STAR usually has three workers from the Ready to Work program, which requires that they work 30 hours of community service a week. This is the first I’ve seen of a shelter utilizing a public program like that, but a brilliant win-win. It’s made me wonder if other states have similar programs that shelters and rescues could use to find kennel help.
There are 15 STAR volunteers (there are no paid employees) who handle all the care and feeding, medical treatments, transports, and locating rescues. Plus, they come to play with the dogs and walk them every day.
Longtime volunteers Cindy and Cathy are sometimes part of the evening crew who care for the dogs each night. We laughed as Rhonda told us about seeing them on the security cameras, sitting in front of the shelter while the dogs ran and played around them, stopping for pets and cuddles.
The team keeps the location of the shelter as much of a secret as possible and use the cameras to discourage people from dumping dogs at the shelter.
STAR works to find rescue for most of the dogs, although they do have a few local adoptions (which are carefully screened, including home visits).
STAR dogs are sometimes pulled from the county dog pound or are owner surrenders from Rowan County and two nearby counties that don’t have any animal services. The county pound will call if they have a sick or injured dog, and STAR will take the dog and get them the care they need.
In addition to Cathy and Cindy, STAR has a handful of other fosters. Between the small shelter and fostering, they are able to save about 1200 dogs a year.
All of their animals are vaccinated on intake, tested for heartworm, and leave spayed/neutered. They only microchip if asked to do so by a receiving rescue. They used to offer a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, but the vet they worked with has since moved from the area, so now they are finding alternative options.
They fund their nonprofit operation through donations and auctions – online food auctions of homemade food, silent auctions, and quarter auctions.
I asked Rhonda what they really needed, and she said she’d love to have some kind of roofing put up over the outside area so the dogs could go out more and have protection from the weather.
And, of course, they all dream of a better facility. STAR rents the old pound from the county for $1/month, but they are responsible for all the upkeep, which included putting on a new roof this year, and making any necessary repairs.
After visiting five municipal shelters on the same tour, it was remarkable to see the quality of care this small group of committed people is able to offer to dogs who have been more or less forgotten by many in the area.
Rowan County is lucky to have them, but it begs the question that I continue to ponder—do rescues enable counties to shirk their responsibility to the animals in their midst? How do we convince counties like the two neighboring Rowan that Animal Services are a vital, important community service worth having and worth funding?
If you’d like to support this amazing organization, consider shopping their Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1Z85X38WQ6WLA/
Or donating via paypal: STAR_donations@yahoo.com
Until each one has a home,
Cara
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Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues was published in January of 2025. It is filled with stories and ideas to help everyone be part of the solution. You can buy a hardback or paperback copy for yourself and/or buy a copy for a shelter or rescue through our website. It is also available on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
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Yvonne Leach
Great example of how to make a shelter run successfully!