Humane Society’s shelter guard dog of 15 years passes away
MOULTRIE, Ga. – Leroy, the Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society’s shelter guard dog and longest resident, died Thursday.
Leroy, a 15-year-old male pitbull terrier, joined the Humane Society as a stray 12 years ago on January 7, 2010. A Moultrie native, he was found on Jim Sharpe Road.
He quickly won the hearts of the shelter’s staff and immediately took his position as the shelter’s guard dog.
Pilorihna “Lori” Folsom, the MCCHS kennel manager, had been Leroy’s primary caretaker.
“He loved the puppies, not so much the cats. He protected the little ones,” Lori shared as she fought back tears in an interview Friday.
He loved to play in the water and would often prance around in it, she said.
Leroy was a lively soul in the shelter and took his job seriously, according to Dawn Blanton, the MCCHS volunteer rescue coordinator.
She said, “He would adapt so well to so many new people. But if he didn’t know you, and he was on guard at that time, he meant business.”
She continued to share a story about Leroy catching a water moccasin snake one night. He successfully prevented the snake from reaching the dog pens that were set in the backyard without it causing him any harm.
“Leroy was just sitting proudly towards the back. We were like, ‘What are you doing, Leroy?’ It was a water moccasin because there’s a creek that runs back here behind our shelter, “ Dawn explained.
He would also go along on calls with the animal control officers, and he rode shotgun.
“One time our animal control officer took him on a call and someone called our board members. [They] told them we had a blond-headed woman riding with them, and it was Leroy sitting proudly in the seat riding shotgun,” Brittany Sirmans, the MCCHS office coordinator said.
Leroy could be found outside the shelter during his early years with the shelter. Six years ago that his health began to decline. He had congestive heart failure and arthritis – which led to him having left knee surgery. Southside Veterinary Center treated Leroy the majority of his life.
“Yesterday, we finally gave him peace,” Dawn said.
Leroy will be cremated, and his ashes, nose print and paw print will be given to Lori.
Dawn said Amy Griner, a former MCCHS board member, has donated and will put Leroy’s nameplate on his cremation box.
Community members can still see Leroy, or at least his picture, on the sign outside the shelter building.