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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 18, 2004 For 12 years, Tim Church has brought a shelter dog to work each day at Ashland Recycling Center, hoping to find each of them a new home. Frasier, left, was looking for a new home Wednesday, while furry Huggy Bear lives with Church. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Recycling Rover: Worker is home-finder in a doggy sense By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune For Tim Church, a stroll down the street is like a family reunion. "I know half the dogs in Ashland," said Church, "I’ll be at Albertsons, and the guy in front of me adopted a dog from me, the lady behind me (too)." Church, 54, has taken dog fostering to a new level: He’s found homes for more than 200 four-legged orphans in 12 years. The Ashland resident attributes his success as a matchmaker to his job. Church brings a shelter dog each day to the Ashland Recycling Center at 220 Water St. He installed a kennel so he can direct customers while Fido is on display for, well, pet recycling. With 300 cars passing through each day, the dogs get great exposure. Advertisement And at the end of the day, he takes the orphan dog home, even though he has three dogs of his own. Church and his wife, Lucinda Hardy, first adopted a dog from the Jackson County animal shelter in 1992, and have been devoted foster dog volunteers ever since. He provides an invaluable service, said Colleen Macuk, director of the Jackson County Animal Care and Control Center, because he gets the animals out of the shelter. "The nature of many dogs causes an additional stress just being in a kennel day in and day out," said Macuk. "It literally drives them crazy." She said the socialization and attention Church gives the dogs keeps them from developing traits like aggressiveness, which make them non-adoptable. Frasier, a year-old Lab mix, is one such best-friend-wannabe. On Wednesday, Church brought Frasier, donning a green neckerchief, to work with him. "Frasier’s a young male, housebroken yellow Lab and white German shepherd," explained Church. As he played with the shelter dog, Steve Shekell, a regular recycler, approached. "I was leaving and he definitely caught my eye," said Shekell as he watched with interest while Church and the dog interacted. "I just moved to a place that’s got 13 acres. "He seems like he’s got a good disposition," he said, noting that the dog didn’t mind the crashing of glass as recyclers tossed bottles down a recycling chute. Shekell said he would return with his 8-year-old daughter to check out the pup. Church said the scene was typical, that a dog will catch a recycler’s eye, and they’ll return with family and friends to help them decide whether to take the dog home. Church confessed that even after 200 dogs, he still gets attached to them all and has mixed feelings when they’re adopted. "It’s hard when they don’t come home with you, hard when they do," he said. His first picks for adoptable animals are usually the stressed-out dogs or the ones who have been in the shelter a long time. But they’re not all success stories, he said. Church said in his 12 years of adopting out dogs, about half a dozen dogs were too fearful or too wound up to adopt out. "They had to go back to the shelter and I don’t ask beyond that," he said. Macuk said Church has a rare ability to work with all kinds of dogs. And with people, too, she said. "He has such a wonderful kind of warm personality that people listen to him," she said. Church said he has one message for everyone. "Spay and neuter, that’s the main thing," he said. "There shouldn’t be one more litter of dogs or cats until there’s not one left in the shelter." In fact, that’s his vision. "I’d love to call up the shelter some time and they say ‘We don’t have anything.’ " Consider this when adopting a pet Colleen Macuk of the Jackson County Animal Care and Control Center offers these tips for those considering bringing a dog into their lives. She said the shelter places about 1,000 dogs per year. Of those, about 80 are returned. Think about the size of dog that will fit into your home life. Think about the energy level that will fit into your home life. Assess your financial status: Dogs mean more than a few bags of food. There are heartworm pills, vet bills, unforeseen injuries — so $150 in annual expenses is the bare minimum. Never adopt on impulse. Put at least as much thought into choosing your lifelong companion as you do the purchase of your vehicle. The Jackson County Animal Care and Control Center is at 5595 S. Pacific Highway, Phoenix. The phone number is 774-6654. The Southern Oregon Humane Society also has dogs available for adoption. The phone there is 779-3215. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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