By Kate Shunney, The Morgan Messenger
BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Staff at the Morgan County Emergency Communications Center in downtown Berkeley Springs had a pretty good idea last year – to start a foster program for dogs in partnership with Morgan County Animal Control.
Animal Control is one of the agencies that the 911 Center dispatches to, and talks with their staff had generated the notion of helping some of the dogs brought in by Animal Control get more ready to be permanently adopted.
“The original idea was for us to foster a dog to get them ready for adoption and then move on to the next dog. We had asked Animal Control to notify us when they received a dog that fit our needs to be within the Morgan County Emergency Communications Center,” said Sarah Henry, 911 Center Supervisor.
The idea took on new life on December 1, 2023 when a call came into the 911 Center about two dogs that had been in a fight over a deer carcass.
“MCAC responded to the call and found one of the dogs that was severely wounded and underweight. He was rushed to the emergency vet where he received stitches to his head, neck, and ears, and given general care while being held for observation,” Henry recounted. When the dog was on the road to recovery, he was returned to Animal Control’s custody.
