NEW BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - "Maurice is a talker," said Callaway Hills Animal Shelter employee Steven Feldman, pointing toward a large husky mix. "I don't know if he'll talk to you, though."
CHAS is the only no-kill animal shelter in Callaway County. Currently at capacity and housing around 60 dogs and 30 cats, the shelter is just off U.S. 54 near New Bloomfield.
It seemed like all 60 dogs were barking and wagging as Feldman led a tour around the facility.
"We take in so many animals over there," shelter manager Pam Walther said. "We get about 50 calls a week of people wanting to get rid of their animals."
The shelter doesn't euthanize animals that still have quality of life. Lenore "Tony" Weldon, the owner and daughter of the shelter's founder, defines quality of life as, "They can get up on their own to go potty, they have interest in food and they still enjoy your company."
Once a dog or cat arrives, it has a home at the shelter until it is adopted.
"For about a week, I wanted to bring home every animal here," Feldman said. "Then I realized, oh right, I get to come back tomorrow and see them."
The shelter was established in 1983 by Betty Weldon, a woman whose level of success in the media industry was rare for her time.
Born in 1922, Betty Goshorn grew up in Jefferson City, according to her obituary. Her father Robert Goshorn acquired the Jefferson City News Tribune. Later, he also acquired KWOS-Radio.
In 1943, after graduating from Mount Holyoke College, Betty opened Callaway Hills Stables. She had considerable success breeding Saddlebred horses, according to "The Saddle Horse Report." To date, 10 horses bred at the stables have gone on to become World Grand Champions.
After her father's death in 1953, Betty saddled up and took over the paper and radio station.
"She was kinda born with ink in her blood to begin with," Weldon said. "She spent her entire childhood (in the newsroom), hanging out with the pressmen."
Betty Welden resolved to start her own TV station, as well, founding KRCG in 1955. Still in existence, though now owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station stands on former Callaway Hills land. The advertising money she needed to launch the station came from the man who would later become her husband, Bill Weldon. She later purchased the Fulton Sun and California Democrat
"What she enjoyed the most was the power of the press," Weldon said. "She liked being able to have influence over political offices, help with community things - I don't think there was any community interest she wasn't involved in."
Betty didn't just love horses, she loved all animals. When she learned that the Jefferson City shelter was killing healthy dogs, she was appalled.
"She said any dog on death row, she'd take," Weldon said. "She was a little naive."
In 1983, she founded CHAS and funded it until her death in 2007. Eventually the shelter's mission branched out beyond saving shelter dogs to rescue work and taking in other unwanted cats and dogs. Even in her later years, Betty would sometimes come along.
A picture on the shelter's Facebook page shows Betty holding two puppies during a rescue operation at an abandoned house.
"They threw up on her and she didn't even mind," Weldon said. "She had the stable guys hose her off."
Once, Boone County called about a dog abuse case, saying their shelter couldn't take the dogs in because of their condition.
"We took in 13 dogs," Weldon said. "We were not compensated but we got to keep them all and found homes for all but one rottweiler, who came home with me."
Since Betty Weldon's death, the shelter has depended on month-to-month donations of money, food, kitty litter and other essential items.
They've been on the brink of closure before. Two years ago, KRCG reported the shelter was within three months of running out of funding. But Walther's intense fundraising work and some kind donors have helped them pull through.
"We operate on a shoestring budget," Feldman said.
Despite the high volume of animals and the tight budget, CHAS takes pride in carefully matching the right pets with the right owners, according to their Petfinder page.
"We personally spend a great deal of time with our animals, pour a lot of love in them and are often quite bonded," the page states. "We take each adoption seriously and base our decision on each individual's best interest."
The adoption process can take up to 10 days to complete, the page says.
All animals are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before adoption.
Donations can be made by mail to P.O. Box 35, New Bloomfield 65063, or at this PayPal link: bit.ly/2cWv7XM.
Callaway Hills Animal Shelter is at 2714 State Road TT, New Bloomfield.
Call 573-896-4049 to set up a visit.