Jan 26, 2015 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – “Granges are very near and dear to me. I grew up with granges,” Jane Gapan said, smiling as she accepted the check from Greene County Pomona Grange that was delivered to a place where animals outnumber people.

Sitting at her feet was an elderly, slow-moving beagle with thoughtful eyes. Gapan smiled again. “That’s Andrew, my father’s last rabbit dog. After my father passed in 2010, he came to live with us here.”

John Gapen was the county extension agent from 1947 to 1978 and was himself a farmer who made the rounds to granges, farmyards, fairs and lecture halls, spreading the word about new farming techniques such as erosion control and new ways of caring for livestock and the land.

Daughter Jane had good footsteps to follow when she helped found and later became executive director of the Humane Society of Greene County.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in December and the gate to the facility on 183 Jefferson Road was open. Cars rolled into the parking lot and donations rolled in – bags of cat and dog feed, bundles of newspaper, old towels and blankets, cleaning supplies, envelopes of checks and cash. The spirit of giving was in the air.

“Have any cats? I’m looking for a replacement,” a woman asked, and was taken down a hallway to where felines have their own village of cages and habitats to catch the eye of just the right human.

“We adopted 40 this month and have about 40 now – domestic short hairs, long hairs and ginger cats as the British refer to orange tabbies, like Garfield,” Gapen said.

Like Andrew, not all animals that come to the shelter are cute kittens or puppies.

“I take the older ones,” Sandy Yoders of Rices Landing said, holding a fuzzy black bundle of fur in her arms. “This is Buster, he’s from a Pomeranian rescue in central Ohio. Jane knows I’m a softie so she calls me. I have three or four from here, mostly poms and poodles.”

Yoders is in charge of selling the 2015 Humane Society calendar that comes with a three-digit number and just might pay off any day. “You don’t even have to keep track of the number – if you win I’ll call you and send a check.”

“(The shelter) costs $200,000 a year to run and we get no money from government or national organizations,” Gapen said. “We do get funding from the National Humane Society and our nice representatives at the township, county and state give what they can every year. This year, we got $25,000 from the county and other organizations and individuals give as well. We are very grateful for our loyal supporters and those who attend our fundraisers. Last year, Sandy’s calendar got us our new ventilation system,” Gapen said.

The bond between animals and their human friends is a healthy one.

Cardio dog-walking after surgery is now prescribed by doctors and the benefits of building relationships with furry friends are already well known. “My sister lost two dogs and now she volunteers at humane societies in Ohio,” Gapen said.

The shelter’s small crew of workers who are there every day to feed, clean, exercise and sometimes doctor can use all the volunteer help they can get.

“When the university is in we have enough but we can always use more,” Gapen said.

For more information about the humane society and what volunteer opportunities are available, including fostering an animal when needed, call 724-627-9988. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Humane Society of Greene County has a Facebook page and can also be found by searching by its name online.