Volunteer faces charges after ‘rescuing’ shelter cats

Edward Igor McIrvin couldn’t stand the idea of dozens of cats being put down, so he took action.

Irvin removed 37 felines from their cages at the shelter early Tuesday morning.

“Word came down Monday night that a lot of them were scheduled to be euthanized on Tuesday,” said Kathe Nagy, office manager at the Reidsville Veterinary Hospital. “He [McIrvin] thought he was doing the right thing trying to get them out of there…He took them to save them.”

The Reidsville Police Department issued warrants against 43-year-old McIrvin, of Greensboro, for one charge each of felony breaking and entering and larceny. Both charges are Class H felonies.

“The suspect cooperated with the investigation,” said Lt. Wendell Neville of the Reidsville Police Department. “We accompanied the suspect to a site in Greensboro where we recovered the animals.” 

Neville said he has never investigated a cat theft of such magnitude as the animal shelter theft. He said McIrvin will be prosecuted for his criminal actions, but evidence shows the theft of the felines was an act of compassion.

“He was very compassionate about making sure these animals were taken care of and adopted out,” said Neville. “While they were not in the shelter, he took good care of them.”

McIrvin paid the Reidsville Veterinary Hospital a discounted $100 adoption fee for each cat and a week’s worth of board, in the hopes that all the animals will be adopted in that period of time. As of Friday afternoon, two cats had found homes and 35 remained, according to an employee at the vet hospital.

Not only is adoption of the cats free, but the vet hospital will also provide free of charge the cat’s first set of vaccines, dewormer, spay or neuter, a microchip and an FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus)/leukemia test. To adopt one of the “rescued” cats, call the vet hospital at (336) 349-3194.
McIrvin, who could not be reached for comment, had been working as a volunteer at the Rockingham County Animal Shelter at 1401 W. Harrison Street for the past month, according to Nagy. She said he had been working on making improvements to the building and improving the environment in which the animals are kept.

Overcrowding is a constant problem at the Rockingham County Animal Shelter. Nagy said the shelter has 20 dog runs and 12 to 15 cages for cats, and sometimes as many as five cats are packed into one cage.

“They [cats] come in 20 at a time some days,” said Nagy. “There’s definitely a need for a spay and neuter program.”

At the current shelter, animals that aren’t claimed or adopted within a 72-hour period are euthanized. The county is in the process of building a 10,000-square-foot animal shelter to reduce the euthanization rate and provide better conditions for the animals. The Rockingham County Animal Shelter Campaign is raising money to provide further amenities at the new shelter, including a spay and neuter clinic.

For more information or to contribute to the campaign, visit http://www.rockinghamcountyanimalshelter.org.