Dog Days ...And Nights

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE - Here's your chance to see Sheriff Richard Nugent in solitary confinement.
Scratch that. He'll have a kennelmate.
Nugent is one of a dozen or so people who are donating time - and maybe a little dignity -- for a fundraising effort by the Humane Society of the Nature Coast that begins today.
Most will spend 24 hours in the outdoor dog kennels at the Humane Society on Wiscon Road. Others, including executive director Joanne Schoch, will spend a full week in the canine confines, around the clock, until Feb. 22.
All will share the seven-foot-by-four-foot fenced spaces with a dog up for adoption at the no-kill shelter.
Nugent laughed Thursday when asked why he chose to do it. Then he coughed up the reason.
"Joanne has the ability to get people to do things they just might not normally do," Nugent said. "She's really infectious with her enthusiasm for the Humane Society and what they stand for."
"We all know we're going to be cold; we all know we're going to be uncomfortable, and we all know it's going to be worth it to speak for our little friends who can't speak for themselves," Schoch said. "If we don't, who will?"
Visitors can make life a little more bearable for the kennel dwellers, and that's where the fundraising comes in.
For a donation, well-wishers provide snacks, radios, even a massage and television. A "walk" costs $1 a minute with a five-minute minimum. To slap a leash on the wrist during the walk, it's $5 a minute.
"We're willing to be humiliated, but you're going to pay for it," said a laughing Schoch.
Adoption specials will run all week. Those in a partying mood should come this Saturday between 6 p.m. and midnight to celebrate Schoch's 56th birthday. There will be music, food and dancing. Instead of a gift, Schoch is requesting a donation to the shelter's new building fund.
Among the others cohabitating with the canines are Humane Society board members Edie Jo Norman and Paul Douglas. Schoch said she is particularly proud of 12-year-old Spring Hill resident Tralynn Barbee who, despite her age is one of the shelters long-time volunteers.
Seven staffers from the sheriff's office will take shifts, with Nugent kicking it off from 3 p.m. today to 3 p.m. tomorrow.
Local restaurants Chick-fil-A, Spare Time Bar and Grill and Golden Corral will provide food. Wal-Mart donated the cots.
The Humane Society can house up to 25 dogs and 60 cats at maximum capacity, simply not enough for a county growing like Hernando, Schoch said.
Last year, the shelter received a donation of more than $195,000, bequeathed in the will of Spring Hill couple Tom and Dorothy Huitfeldt. Schoch put most of it in the bank as a solid foundation for the new building fund.
That, Nugent said, makes should make it easier to understand why he's bedding down in the kennel: "It's a dire need down there."

WHAT: Heart to Heart fundraiser for the Humane Society of the Nature Coast.
WHEN: Starts Friday at 3 p.m. and runs through 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22. Times are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, Feb. 17; and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.
WHERE: 7200 Mobley Road (corner of Wiscon and Mobley roads).
CONTACT: 352-796-2711 or visit www.hsofnc.com