By Amber Lester
Friday, December 18, 2009
Heritage Humane Society's new director Dana Cheek gives some attention to a kitten.
When Dana Cheek’s 5-year-old cocker spaniel Sadie suddenly became ill, she dropped everything to save her dog.
Sadie was taken to see specialists, veterinarians and experts at North Carolina State University. But they couldn’t save her; she had advanced hemolytic anemia. “She was like my child,” Cheek says. “All of a sudden, that was my life.”
It was hard losing Sadie, but the loss pushed Cheek to follow her passion for animals into a new career. When she went to the Norfolk SPCA to look for a new dog, she decided to volunteer and kept coming back. She eventually took a pay cut to accept a job as the shelter’s bookkeeper and executive director. As of last month, she is the new executive director of the Heritage Humane Society in Williamsburg.
Cheek replaced Christie Chipps Peters, who left to become the executive director of the Portsmouth Humane Society. She was chosen from 100 applicants. When she was hired in November, the board of directors said, “The HHS Board is confident that Ms. Cheek’s knowledge, experience and commitment to animals will be a valuable asset to the organization and its ongoing mission to save the lives of unwanted and stray pets and we look forward to working with her.”
Cheek is a Certified Public Accountant who most recently served as finance director of the Virginia Arts Festival. Prior to working for the arts festival, she served as executive director of the Norfolk SPCA for seven years. While there, she transitioned the organization to a no-kill shelter, opened an on-site spay/neuter clinic and established an endowment. She also served on the board of the Chesapeake Humane Society.
She wanted to head up the HHS when she saw its dedicated corps of volunteers. “We receive overwhelming support from the community,” she says. “There was not such a stable volunteer force in Norfolk.”
She has found equally reliable support from her eight full-time employees. “You find people are really here for the cause. Staff is willing to forgo lunch breaks and give up holidays,” she says. “The front office staff is coming in on Christmas to walk the dogs!”
She enters the position at a time when cats and dogs fill nearly every nook and cranny in the HHS facilities. As a result of the poor economy, HHS has seen increases in surrendered pets, and a string of warm weather days resulted in more litters of kittens than usual.
“We’ve seen pets left behind in foreclosed homes for the Realtor or the bank to find,” she says. “Sometimes they haven’t been fed in weeks.”
Cheek expects the society’s biggest challenge in the new year will be obtaining adequate funding from the localities and educating the public to prevent more surrenders. Right now, HHS is housing about 60 dogs, but technically only has room for 35 to 45. Adoptable cats have taken over the stray holding area and their cages line the hallways.
While in Norfolk, Cheek turned the shelter into a no-kill shelter, which wasn’t without controversy. She says some believe no-kill shelters are irresponsible because some animals are never adopted and live out their lives in cages. The organization’s contract with James City County and Williamsburg will not allow HHS to become a no-kill shelter, but Cheek would like to euthanize fewer animals.
“Our idea of no-kill is not about what happens within the four walls of the shelter,” she says. “We want to keep animals from coming in here in the first place. We want to offer resources.”
Those resources include helping pet owners get animals spayed or neutered and even offering advice on pet behavior. Cheek would like to eventually bring a pet behavioralist in to train some of the boisterous dogs and socialize some of the moody cats.
Her biggest goal in her new position is to ensure every animal is spayed or neutered before leaving the building. It’s a challenge because HHS doesn’t have its own spay/neuter clinic, but she would like to open one during her tenure.
She would also like to boost adoptions. HHS currently subsidizes the cost of adopting an animal by providing a wellness exam, a first round of vaccinations, deworming, preventative flea spraying and a microchip. During the holidays, however, she has to remind prospective pet owners that adopting a pet is a 15- to 20-year commitment. For that reason, the shelter does not recommend giving pets as gifts.
It's clear Cheek has settled quickly in just three weeks. She knows the names and histories of nearly every dog and cat, not to mention every employee. She says volunteering in shelters was never enough. Bending to pet a black border collie, she says, “I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I didn’t think I was good enough at science. Sometimes I kick myself for not pursuing it, but then I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
Holidays with the Animals Tonight
The Heritage Humane Society will host an open house today from 6 to 8 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring a gift or toy for the animals. Additionally, the shelter needs:
• Dog and cat dry food
• Dog and cat canned food
• Dog and cat treats
• Basketballs and footballs
• Linens and rugs
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