The Welfare of Animals Group (WAG) is a local 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose goals include:
• Reducing the number of unwanted and homeless cats and dogs in Calhoun County by sponsoring spay and neuter services for low-income Calhoun County residents. (It is cheaper to spay your pet than to pay the costs of having and caring for one litter of puppies or kittens.)
• Promoting healthy pet care practices to pet owners through educational visits to county schools to present basic health care information to the young people, and by distributing information from booths and tables at county events. Information promoting responsible pet ownership includes adequate food-water-and shelter guides and the benefits to the animals of spay/neuter, immunizations, and vaccinations, and to the community in reducing the spread of disease.
• Providing cat and dog food on request to residents feeding multiple homeless animals and who are willing to participate in the low cost spay / neuter WAG program.
• Our Trap-Neuter-Return program, in which we catch and spay/neuter feral cats in our county, vaccinate them for rabies/upper respiratory issues/ distemper, treat them for ear mites/fleas/worms, and return them to their colony locations.
Officers:
Jane Carpenter – President, Spay-Neuter Program, Community Education
• Founder of the Welfare of Animals Group
• Retired Calhoun County Elementary and Middle School teacher for 30 years
• Church Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher
• Elementary School Cheerleading Coach
Linda Buchanan – Secretary, Treasurer, Grant Writing, Trap-Neuter-Return Program
• Served on the Actors Guild of Parkersburg’s Administrative Council for three years, the Board of Directors as President for two years, and as committee chair and Guild Builders Youth Theatre Arts Program liaison for twelve years.
• Administrative Director / Grant Writer / Treasurer for two youth theatre arts programs for seventeen years
• Former Treasurer for Creston Community Building Organization
• Retired Project Manager for Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Public Debt
WAG partners with the local veterinarian, Dr. Daniel Cain, whose Cain Veterinary Clinics are located in Calhoun and Roane County. These clinics serve several of the surrounding counties.