Community Involvement
The ideals and notion of community are important to all of us here at Whitesburg Animal Hospital. We all share Madison County as our home and without the wonderful people of Huntsville and surrounding towns; we would not be nearly as successful as we are today. For this reason, we routinely work with and reach out to our neighbors and local communities. This includes working with several area humane organizations such as the City of Huntsville Animal Services, Therapy Partners and the Greater Huntsville Humane Society.
We are also very proud of our Angel Adoption Foundation, which operates solely on donations from our staff, clients and community. The Foundation provides funds for the care and medical treatment of a homeless pet until a "Forever Home" can be found.
Additionally, the doctors and staff of Whitesburg Animal Hospital frequently volunteer their time by speaking at local schools and assisting with fundraisers sponsored by area shelters and rescue groups. In the past, we raised money to provide pet oxygen masks to all fire departments in the City of Huntsville and held a holiday Pet Food Drive to benefit the Greater Huntsville Humane Society and Forgotten Felines. This year our focus will be on efforts to help the Huntsville Police Department Canine Unit and Animal Control Officers in the performance of their dangerous duties.
Huntsville's Canine Unit is one of the oldest continuously operational Canine Units in the United States. The HPD K-9 Unit was founded with the purchase of "King" in 1963. Today the unit employs ten dual-purpose patrol/narcotics officer and canine teams and a single purpose explosive detector team. The K-9 Teams have two basic missions; to apprehend criminals and to locate evidence such as drugs, weapons, and stolen property. The Team's dedication has earned them top honors among the best teams in the country when competing in the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) National Trials.
The Huntsville Unit is certified through the USPCA and several of the officers are credentialed judges in narcotics, patrol and tracking. Huntsville's K-9 Range is a certified training facility for Region 22, which represents the states of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. Currently the Huntsville Canine Unit is in need of additional training equipment to continue their mission Huntsville Animal Control Officers frequently accompany the Huntsville Police Officers in the field on cases where there may be aggressive canines and potentially dangerous individuals. These Animal Control Officers enter these dangerous and volatile environments without the basic protection of body armor; often before the police officer.
Whitesburg Animal Hospital is proud to help supply the Animal Control Officers with bulletproof protection as well as purchase the necessary training equipment for the Canine Units; neither of these items are in the City's 2011 Budget. To raise the necessary funds to accomplish this goal, Whitesburg Animal Hospital will publish and sell a cookbook. All proceeds from the sale of these cookbooks will go toward the purchase of these items for the Animal Control Officers and the Canine Unit.
