If
you’re a member of the animal welfare community – or the proprietor of a puppy mill – chances are you are familiar with Sheila Gilley. This Louisiana native has been an animal rescuer since she was a little girl in Reeves, where she would beg her mom and grandmother to let her keep stray kittens and dogs she would find abandoned out in the country. Gilley, a graduate of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, McNeese State University and the University of Southern Mississippi, was a therapist with the Office of Juvenile Justice Services for several years before moving to private practice at the Institute for Neuropsychiatry. Since 2009 she has been a vocal advocate and active volunteer with 4 Paws Society, a well-established Sulphurbased organization dedicated to all-breed dog rescue. Gilley serves as the group’s public relations coordinator. She also writes a regular column for Examiner.com that educates the public about animal welfare issues and responsible pet ownership. Gilley is the owner of three dogs – Mr. Blue, a male Pekingese; Nela, a female Pekingese; and Peaches, a toy poodle that she rescued herself. She notes that all three are fixed. There are many local volunteers who are champions of animal rescue, but Sheila Gilley’s voice often stands above the rest, whether she’s breaking down puppy sales in parking lots, on the radio introducing listeners to adoptable animals, or educating pet owners about the importance of spay/neuter. Thrive caught up with Gilley to discuss her career as an animal rescuer and her experiences throughout the process.
How did your work with animal welfare begin? Basically, I was rolling around in the grass with the puppy dogs when I was a young girl and I worried about the ticks so much that I would sit on the ground and pick ticks off the dogs for hours. Also, my brother could tell you stories of me chasing all the birds out of the trees before he could shoot them with his pellet gun. So, my love and protective stance for animals started as far back as I can remember. My first rescue as an adult was helping a classmate in graduate school to free a kitten from behind a car’s tire. Its tail was stuck in the axle, but we gently wiggled him free and got him to a vet where he had a couple inches of his tail amputated. I took the kitten home and made signs to hang on campus until I found a loving family for this kitty. That’s where it all began. What were your earliest experiences with animals? I grew up in rural Allen Parish, where “stray” dogs and cats were a common sight. My grandparents, Will and Azzalee Gilley, helped raise me while my mom was at work, and I always remember my grandma’s kindness toward the stray dogs that had wandered up to her house. She fed them and cuddled them, while most of the family complained. My first pets growing up were always strays – a cat that I named “Candy,” a black lab mix puppy, another puppy that had an injured paw, and so on. Where does your love and passion for animals come from? What nurtured this passion? I have always given my grandma credit for modeling a love for dogs and cats. I loved playing with the dogs, getting kisses from them and playing in the yard. There always seemed to be dogs around when I was a child and I could always count on them to give unconditional love.
September 2011
As an animal welfare advocate, I have definitely educated myself about the lack of humane treatment of all animals worldwide. I encourage everyone to watch the documentary “Earthlings” for an eye-opening, heart breaking view of inhumane animal treatment. What compels you to serve as their advocate? I’m not a “fanatic” like many people might label animal welfare advocates, but I’m not afraid to speak on behalf of the animals who cannot speak for themselves. I’m compelled by my own adoration of dogs; years of seeing the joy that our rescued dogs have brought to adopters; getting the “Happy Tails” stories from adopters who adore the dog that I scooped up off the street, nurtured back to health, and placed into their loving homes; and looking into the eyes of my own adopted dogs and seeing the love they have for me and hoping they know that I love them too. My advocacy is mostly fueled by the dogs we have lost, like Charlotte, who, was shot full of buck shot as a puppy, which shattered her pelvic and hip bones.Charlotte stayed with 4 Paws Society for two years giving boundless love and joy to everyone who met her until her pain became too much. She couldn’t be repaired by surgery so we set her free to run at the Rainbow Bridge on August 12. There are so many special rescues that have suffered due to human cruelty and neglect and who never made it to their Forever Homes, but we keep telling their stories to teach humans to open their eyes and their hearts. Those who might not agree with my opinions about animal welfare issues are often those who have never opened their hearts and minds to the value and purpose a pet can have in their lives.
Why is it important for people to speak for animals? Simple – because they can’t speak for themselves and are exploited daily for money making purposes. We are their voice. Thousands of animals are suffering right here in Calcasieu Parish because of lack of education about spay/ neuter and from plain old laziness. Some people just don’t know about responsible pet ownership because no one ever taught them. If I can inform even one person about how to protect and care for their pet, then I have accomplished something great, and even more rewarding, if I can stop animal abuse and neglect of animals by taking direct action, then I will. I love shutting down puppy sellers in parking lots. It’s one of my biggest peeves. If you are finding it necessary to sell your puppies in parking lots, you are hiding something, and it usually involves some kind of dog suffering. What, in your opinion, is the greatest threat to animal welfare in our society? There are too many dogs and not enough homes! Spay and neuter should be mandatory unless you are responsibly breeding show dogs. If your pet keeps having litters and each offspring of that litter keeps having litters, just imagine the impact you are having on the pet overpopulation problem in our area and the suffering that goes with it. Humans must do better! Don’t tell me you love your pet and let it keep producing litters and litters of puppies or kittens that nobody wants. Right now the economy is forcing many families to give up beloved pets because they can no longer afford to care for them, so why on Earth are people still breeding their dogs? Puppy mills are also an evil enterprise, exploiting the wombs of female dogs that are forced to produce litter after litter of puppies for the sole purpose of making money. Continued on p64
Thrive Magazine for Better Living
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