Animal Shelter Names New K-9 Shelter Dog

ZANESVILLE, OH – This week the Animal Shelter Society is taking the time to share a very important update on one of their pups.

Back in May, we told you about Bellatrix, a 3-year-old pup who was abandoned on a backroad and taped up in a box for two weeks.

April Gibson, the Executive Director, said she and her board of directors decided to give Bellatrix the best shot at a normal life and went through with two surgeries on each of her legs.

Now that she’s on the mend, Gibson said they have some pretty exciting news to share about Miss Bellatrix.

“She’s still in her therapy, she still gets ice, two shifts are taking care of her, we’ve got board members coming in and taking care of her, but she’s just that special dog,” Gibson said. “We all know what happened unfortunately with our Miss Tess, which is still heart breaking. She was our K-9 Ambassador and so in my time as Executive Director, I don’t want to name a dog as an Ambassador but I think it’s time that we put someone in place, so we can go out and educate our public and our schools and everyone on how to care for a dog and all that. So it’s official, we are naming her our K-9 Shelter Dog, here at the Animal Shelter.”

Gibson said Bellatrix still requires a little bit of training but is hopeful by next year, she will be ready to head into schools and assisted living facilities.

She said they wouldn’t have been able to get through everything with Bellatrix if it hadn’t been for the community’s support.

Gibson also highlighted an upcoming fundraiser with Hartstone Pottery for the community to get involved in.

“So they have an event this Saturday at 9AM, I believe it’s 9 to 2, you can go in and you can [paint] some bowls, you can come out and set up, reach out to them,” Gibson said. “We’re going to be there accepting donations, you can go on our website, animalsheltersociety.org, and see what our needs are. Our biggest needs right now are liquid laundry detergent and 6% bleach and chicken pill pockets if you may.”

Also coming up on Tuesday August 5th is a fundraising day for the Shelter at Applebee’s, located at 3181 Maple Ave.

If you mention the fundraiser to your server, 25% of your meal will go towards the Animal Shelter.