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McCook Gazette

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Editorial

Animal shelter pets, hurting vets match made in heaven

Wednesday, July 27, 2011
McCook Daily Gazette

It seems like a match made in heaven.

As Marine Sgt. Jimmy Childers told CBS recently, "18 veterans ... commit suicide every day in this country, and one animal is put to sleep every eight seconds."

The report opened with the story of Dave Sharpe, who came back from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and was about to end his life when his six-month old pit bull, Cheyenne, intervened.

"She came up behind me, and she licked my ear," he said. "And she gave me this look of, 'What are you doing, man, who's going to let me sleep in your bed? Listen, if you take care of me, I'll take care of you."

Sharpe went on to start Pets2Vets, now known of P2V, which connects injured veterans with dogs and cats from an animal shelter in Washington D.C.

McCook has its share of problems with animals, more specifically, irresponsible animal owners, but we know dogs and cats can provide much-needed emotional support for many of us, not just mentally or physically scarred veterans.

Even if you're not ready to take on the responsibility of a pet, the McCook Humane Society is always looking for volunteers to walk dogs or help care for the animals. They're open from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at 100 South Street; phone (308) 345-2372, or visit http://www.mccookhumanesociety.com/

You can view videos, read stores and learn more about P2V at http://p2v.org/

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  • We here at SW Nebraska Small Animal Rescue would also like to encourage voluteers to come see us! We always have little ones begging for attention. Just petting, holding and walking and maybe even bathing and grooming. We do not have set hours, so volunteers could come at their convenience.

    We can be contacted at 308-340-6921

    -- Posted by charlotte5050 on Thu, Jul 28, 2011, at 2:09 PM
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