By Don Bolding
Killeen Daily Herald

Among the myriad people helping the Second Chance Animal Shelter get back on its feet is Killeen artist Stephen Colver, who is painting murals showing all 12 dogs and 99 cats who died in the Nov. 1 fire, with their names printed below their pictures.

So far, he has about two dozen pictures completed on one wall of the cat room. Shelter manager Ginger Smith-Holmes remembers most of the little victims, and neither she nor Centex Humane Society volunteer president George Grammas can point at the pictures and talk about them without choking up a little.

"I'll never forget the night I got the call about the fire," Smith-Holmes said. "I went over to a friend's house and got her to bring me out, because I never could have made it out here by myself. And then the devastation was far worse than I had imagined."

The facility, owned and operated by the Centex Humane Society, is a no-kill shelter. Grammas said that when it reaches capacity, pets have to be turned away, but he takes purebred animals to breed-specific shelters in Houston and Dallas to make room for more mixed-breeds "because they deserve a chance to live, too. And often they make better pets."

Municipal shelters and the shelter at Fort Hood frequently transfer animals to Second Chance to keep from having to euthanize them for lack of space and resources. Many others come in when soldiers deploy. Some animals stay at Second Chance up to a year.

Honoring lost animals

Smith-Holmes pointed at some of the pictures and talked about the animals:

"Bruiser was a Chihuahua-terrier mix. He would run after people and nip at their heels, and he would jump in your lap when you were trying to eat lunch, to try to share it.

"That cat, Shelby, was burned when he came in, and we nursed him back to health. He would kiss you.

"That cat over there, Tito, would beg to be petted until he got enough. Then he would smack you and walk away.

"We were keeping Bearette, a chow mix, a second time. He loved people, but it turned out he didn't get along well with other dogs.

"That buff-colored kitty, named Buff, would sit on the counter and greet people when they came in.

"I wish I could find a way to keep what happened here that night from happening anywhere, ever again."

The electrical fire started in the front room and spread to the cat room right behind it about midnight Nov 1. The animals all died from smoke inhalation. The fire could have been much worse, but a passing motorist saw smoke and dialed 911. Medium and large-size dogs were outside and not affected, so adoptions for them continue at the shelter, but quarters for the smaller animals were gutted. The remaining small animals and new ones have to be farmed out to foster families for now and taken to Petsmart and Petco on weekends to be shown to prospective owners.

"The happiest result is a 'failed foster parenthood,'" Smith-Holmes said. "That's when a foster owner falls in love with a dog or cat and adopts it permanently."

Aiming for Feb. 1

Grammas said the board and staff hope to have the whole shelter up and running again by Feb. 1. He expressed gratitude to Advanced Electrical Systems of Killeen for rewiring not only the damaged rooms but for replacing all the older wiring in the building free of charge. The building has already passed its framing-electrical-mechanical-plumbling inspection by the city. New laminate is going onto walls, and the clinic and surgery are getting all new tile.

Petsmart and Petco national headquarters each donated several pallets of food and litter after the fire, Grammas said. Financial donations have come from Connell Chevrolet, Toyota of Killeen, the Carlson Law Firm, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Overby Century 21 Realtors, and students at Shoemaker High School, Copperas Cove High School, Forest Trail Elementary School in Austin, Cedar Valley Elementary School in Killeen, the Future Farmers of America, West Side Drugs in Temple, the Fort Hood Officers Wives Club, the Fort Hood Thrift Shop and the Killeen Daily Herald, among others.

Grammas spent his New Year's Day addressing thank-you notes and looking up occasionally to watch a little football.

"As always, we can can use financial donations," Smith-Holmes said, "and blankets. The floors are always cold and hard."

The shelter, at 5501 Clear Creek Road, is open noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It can be reached at (254) 526-6200 or through www.centexhumanesociety.com.

Contact Don Bolding at dbolding@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7557.

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