Liz Kirchner
It started, as some things do, with a little dog, a librarian, and a Facebook newsfeed. When the Radford Animal Shelter posted the photo of a small dog, lost or abandoned, on their newsfeed held in the big hands of a Radford cop, Radford Public Library Director Elizabeth Sensabaugh kept checking back.
That little dog, that cop, that newsfeed, and director Sensabaugh may now be responsible for a stronger tie between Radford city departments and helping other dogs and cats, big and little.
“I just kept checking back to see if someone came for her, but she was never reclaimed,” Sensabaugh said. So, the library director went to the Radford Animal Shelter to meet the little black and brown dog.
“They were so lovely to work with and would let me stop in and take her for walks and bring my other dog over to see if they’d get along.” And they did.
And now, the little dog’s name is Harriet. She weighs 8 pounds, which is about as much as a gallon of milk.
“I’m very grateful to have a new family member and am so impressed with all that the shelter, the volunteers and staff do for animals! It made me wonder what can we do as another city department to help,” she said.
So, the two departments are working together.
Since the library is open more hours than the animal shelter, the Radford Library will be a donation spot for the Animal Shelter accepting kitten food, cat food, dog food, Lysol cleaner or cat litter. The shelter even maintains a pet pantry that offers pet food to families with financial difficulty.
To sweeten the pot, ““If you have fines, we can remove them in exchange for your generous donation to this important community department that gives lost or unwanted pets a place to go until they can find their fur-ever home,” a library press release said.
“Libraries really like to partner with other organizations and help out,” Sensabaugh said.
The library will collect donations any time and can accept donations to take to the Animal Shelter even if you don’t have a fine. For more information about the Radford Public Library visit and the Radford Police-Animal Shelter call 731-3688
