Karen Dillon

Karen writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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In the world of animal rescue, Jenny Richardson and Anita Scott could be considered super heroes. In the past three months, the duo has rescued more than 100 animals from the Franklin County Animal Shelter and started a new initiative aimed at finding permanent homes for unwanted cats.

“I look at these little cats and I see this is such a huge opportunity for them,” said Scott. “We just want this to succeed so badly.”

The Kitty Cat Railroad, launched under the auspices of the Franklin County Humane Society, transports healthy, friendly cats to the Last Chance Animal Rescue in Waldorf, Md . From there, the cats are placed in two dozen PetSmart stores throughout Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia for adoption. Thus far, the group has transported more than 30 cats in three different trips.

Before the cats make the nearly five-hour journey to Last Chance, they’re quarantined for 10-14 days at a facility in Wirtz to ensure they’re free of diseases. It’s there that Richardson, Scott and a host of volunteers have the opportunity to play with — and spoil — the cats.

Standing in front of a bank of wire kennels that serves as their temporary quarters, Scott refers to each feline by name and talks about each one’s unique personality. There’s Freckles, a robust gray and white feline who loves to paw at humans through his cage; siblings Ricky and Lucy once lived with their homeless owner in her mini-van; and Morris, an orange tabby, loves to have his ears scratched.

The group is allowed to bring cats of all shapes, sizes and — almost — all colors to Last Chance. They’re limited to one black cat a month and the maximum age of the cats is 7 years.

Since word has gotten out about the project, the women have received a lot of positive feedback. Now, they’re hoping for more volunteer drivers to transport the cats, and monetary donations to buy supplies for the cats while they’re in quarantine.

The Kitty Cat Railroad started through an e-mail correspondence between the Franklin County Humane Society and Last Chance co-founder Cindy Sharpley.

“It’s important to find shelters we can work with to house the cats [after they’re released from the animal shelter] so they don’t get sick,” said Sharpley.

“That’s one of the biggest challenges, because we can’t take sick cats.”

Sharpley started the non-profit organization in 2000 out of her garage, rescuing cats about to be euthanized and placing them in new homes. From there, the operation took off. Now, the organization works with approximately 20 different shelters in five states, according to its Web site.

Last Chance Animal Rescue is the largest no-kill shelter affiliated with PetSmart charities in the United States, said Sharpley.

“We do more adoptions than anyone,” she said. “We’re lucky because we’re in an area that has a huge concentration of people.”

Sharpley said she doesn’t fault shelters that euthanize animals because they’re doing what’s necessary to reduce overpopulation.

“The key to this is you have to be a responsible pet owner and have your pet spayed or neutered,” she said. “The bad guy is the person who doesn’t make that vet appointment [to have the pets spayed or neutered]. The shelters are just there to clean up after them.”

Richardson and Scott wholeheartedly agreed .

“So many people do not spay or neuter their animals,” said Richardson. “Euthanasia is just terribly, terribly high, and if we don’t get them [the animals] out of there [the shelters], they just never have a chance.”

Sharpley said she’s pleased with the efforts of Richardson and Scott and looks forward to continuing the relationship.

“The women on your end are the real heroes because they’re donating their time, their effort and their gas to get [the cats] here to us.”

For more information about the Kitty Cat Railroad, contact Jenny Richardson at (540) 420-3833 or Anita Scott at (540) 400-1204.