For the love of Phoenix

In early October, Sam Dirnberger, a junior at Notre Dame Regional High School, was given a mission, along with his fellow schoolmates, from school principal Brother David Migliorino.

Migliorino gave students and faculty members $10 each on Oct. 3 to go out and do something positive in the community in honor of St. Francis Assisi's feast day.

"I want you, in the next few weeks, to do something kind for somebody," he told the student body at the ceremony. "Something simple, in the name of St. Francis, locally."

And that's exactly what Dirnberger did.

He said he has wanted to volunteer at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri for several years, but previously had not been old enough.

Humane Society employee Sierra Butler poses with Phoenix after all the money was raised for his heartworm treatment. (Submitted photo)

Since he turned 16, he has been volunteering at the shelter and quickly found a special friend in Phoenix, a 1-year-old Labrador husky mix.

The day before the feast day ceremony, Dirnberger found out Phoenix had heartworms. Pooling together money to help provide treatment for the dog was Dirnberger's obvious first choice for a feast-day project.

"The first thought to my mind was to help out the dog and see if I could get some friends to help out, too," he said.

Dirnberger recruited about 10 of his friends from school to give their $10, and he brought the money to the shelter the next week.

Meg Ervin, an adoptions counselor at the Humane Society, said Dirnberger's donation was unexpected, but greatly appreciated.

Phoenix was adopted after a Humane Society mobile adoption event at Lawless Harley Davidson in Scott City. (submitted photo)

"I would say about a week after he first met Phoenix, he came back in, and he hadn't discussed it with us at all; he just brought in $60 that he collected from him and his friends and said he wanted to pay for Phoenix's heartworm treatment, or at least start it," Ervin said.

After he brought the money in, staff members at the Humane Society posted the story on the shelter's Facebook page and encouraged others from the community to donate to the cause.

Since Dirnberger's initial contribution, a total of $325 was collected for the cost of heartworm treatment for Phoenix, with $140 coming from Notre Dame student donations and the rest coming from the community.

Cape Small Animal Clinic gave the Humane Society a discount on treatment, allowing Phoenix to get the care he needed entirely through donated funds.

Ervin said the response from the community was so great that it only took 13 days to raise the entire amount needed.

"The whole community banded together and followed in his lead. Â… He's been completely selfless about all of it and very modest; you've got to love that," Ervin said.

As someone who cares greatly about the well-being of orphaned animals, Ervin said it's nice to know there are other people in the area, like Dirnberger, who share her passion.

"It's nice to see other people that take these animals into their hearts as much as we do. You grow to care a lot, a lot, about them and, I don't know, it's nice to see someone else be touched by them the way we are," Ervin said.

Tracy Poston, the shelter manager, said heartworms in dogs are a prominent issue in Southeast Missouri, especially because the disease is carried by mosquitoes that can infect animals easily if they aren't given the proper preventive medication.

Consequently, a considerable number of shelter dogs could have heartworms, making them potentially less adoptable options for families who are unable to afford the cost of treatment.

In an effort to make the dogs more adoptable, the Humane Society waives the adoption fee for dogs with heartworms, leaving just the mandatory $11 microchipping fee and the cost of spaying or neutering the animal.

In Phoenix's case, another donor provided the funds to have him neutered, leaving his adoption cost at a low $11.

"We want to thank the people that jumped on Sam's bandwagon. They were really touched by his story, like we were, and helped by coming in and donating," Ervin said.

Dirnberger said older animals often aren't as adoptable as puppies, especially when they have illnesses such as heartworms that call for expensive treatments.

He said those dogs deserve a second chance just as much as Phoenix.

"Dogs like Phoenix, he was pretty young, but dogs that aren't very adoptable need a second chance because they don't have very much rooting for them," he said.

Dirnberger said he plans to continue volunteering at the Humane Society because this experience has been so fulfilling.

"It felt amazing; like, it made me feel good," he said. "It was just a great thing; I felt like it'd be a good thing for the community. It felt good helping out the dog."

Phoenix was adopted Nov. 1. He met his new family at a recent mobile adoption event at Lawless Harley Davidson in Scott City.

lyoung@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632