Tazewell ARC (Animal Rescue Coalition) is a 501c3 organization. Much effort has gone into this project in hopes of launching a permanent, self-sufficient entity that will endure in the community and inspire tremendous change for the benefit of animals. In 2013, the goal was only to rescue only a few animals using a private residence and personal funds, plus a few donations. By June of 2013 it had
become clear that our small effort would not be enough. Each day we learned things about the plight of animals in our area that de-manded action. Tazewell ARC was birthed right into the middle of a regional crisis. Our area is economically depressed with a high unemployment rate. The median income for a household in Tazewell County is $27,304. Fifteen percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Our county has about 45,000 residents, yet our tiny municipal shelter destroyed more dogs in 2012 than Richmond, Roanoke, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Virginia Beach combined (according VDACS online reporting statistics.) Traditionally, animals have been considered property and treated as such. The nearest low-cost spay/neuter clinic is more than an hour away. Parvo is virtually epidemic due to lack of awareness, lack of money for veterinary care, and a strong regional tendency to home-medicate. Rural Appalachia is not a good place to be a dog. We want to change that. With proper funding, we believe we can change the lives of many animals and change a community while we're doing it. We hope to use grant money and donated funds to convert the property ARC sits on from a residence to a modern adoption center and no-kill shelter. We hope to implement vaccine clinics with the help of local veterinarians to curtail parvo outbreaks and the incidence of rabies. We hope to fund educational opportunities for people in the community that include the printing and distribution of literature and outreach into the public school system. And we hope to bring low cost spay and neuter opportunities to residents of Tazewell County on a permanent basis, which will curtail the number of unwanted animals born into our population.
