W
ilbur had a much better Valentine’s Day than he thought he would. After he was covered in mud and poop, thrown in a burlap sack and abandoned shortly after birth, Wilbur was rescued and taken to Sierra’s Haven in Scioto County. He could not stay there for very long because he is a pig, and Sierra’s Haven is designed for cats and dogs. Despite this, Chrystal Brown-Dixon, shelter supervisor, took him in and cleaned him up. Wilbur took quite a liking to Brown-Dixon in the short time he was there. After all, he went from starving in a sack to being fed, cleaned and loved. On Valentine's Day, Linda Cottle, a volunteer for the shelter, transported him to Homeward Bound Animal Rescue in Adams County. If it weren’t for these two and the other staff at Sierra’s Haven, Wilbur would not have been saved, and neither would have so many other animals. Dr. Gail Counts founded Sierra’s Haven in 2006 and is still the executive director to this day. Over the years, the not-for-profit has saved over 20,000 cats and dogs. “I just never thought it would ever be as big as it is, being able to house this many animals and actually move them,” Counts says. Sierra’s Haven has a nice piece of flat land in the hills. It does not take long to hear the dogs outside when arriving. Most of the animals, with some exceptions for the young and sick, have cages or rooms that lead outside. They love going outside, even in frigid weather.
22 | Southeast Ohio
ABOVE | Sierra’s Haven provided a life-saving anctuary for baby Wilbur. BELOW | The building’s welcome sign spells out the notfor-profit’s basic mission. OPPOSITE PAGE | Thanks to Sierra’s Haven’s active Facebook page, dogs like this beagle eventually find homes.
