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Appalachian Communication student Ashley Wilson (center) presents donations she received for the Watauga Humane Society to Carolyn King (left). Wilson, of “Ashley in the Morning” on MAC FM 100.7, raised $1,305 through her broadcasts about the plight of 85 dogs seized from a puppy mill in Todd. Lauren Ohnesorge (right), Appalachian alumna and Aisling Broadcasting news director, first broke the story and has been following it since.
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Lauren Ohnesorge (left) and Ashley Wilson (right) visit with one of the dogs available for adoption at the Watauga Humane Society. The dogs seized from the puppy mill will not be available for adoption until conclusion of the case.
Ashley Wilson, a student in Appalachian’s Department of Communication and station manager for WASU, learned firsthand the power that radio and online news wield in raising community awareness and support.
Wilson is the on-air personality on Aisling Broadcasting’s “Ashley in the Morning” radio show on Boone’s MAC FM 100.7 between 6 and 9 a.m. Appalachian alumna and Aisling news director Lauren Ohnesorge reported on the seizure of 85 dogs by Watauga County Animal Control at a residence near Todd. The large number of dogs seized put a tremendous strain on both Watauga Humane Society and Animal Control since the seized dogs cannot be adopted out until after the court case.
“I am an animal lover myself, so I was very shocked when I heard what had happened,” said Wilson. “Although I knew the story would be in the news again Monday morning, I wanted to address it throughout the morning show as well. Knowing that these 85 dogs were between the Humane Society and Animal Control, I thought the best thing we could do to help the situation was to raise money to support the care of these dogs, as well as the other animals in the shelter. Another reason I wanted to raise the money was because I know that not everyone is able to adopt an animal, but one thing they CAN do is give money to support an animal.”
Wilson had no fundraising goal in mind when she began talking to her listeners about how they could help. Under $100 was raised during the show, but at the end of her show, she received a call from a listener who said that he would donate $100. On top of that, if listeners would match that $100, he would donate another $100. By the end of her Tuesday show, Wilson’s listeners had pledged nearly $1,000, including $300 from the listener pledging to match funds.
“I was very unsure about how people would respond to the request for donations,” said Wilson. “When people started coming to the radio station, I was overwhelmed. I really couldn’t believe it. I was so happy that we were able to do this and generate this kind of response. On Tuesday morning, I nearly broke down on the air because I really could not believe we were able to do this. It was just amazing how people responded to the request for donations.”
Ohnesorge’s reporting on MAC FM and on goblueridge.net, Aisling’s online news and community bulletin board, and continued discussion of the case on Wilson’s radio show, were instrumental in informing the community about the seizure and the plight of the dogs. Wilson’s show propelled the tremendous outpouring of donations to the shelter to help the dogs.
“Radio is a one-on-one communication medium,” said Wilson. “When I am in the studio I want to talk to you, not at you. I want to talk to you about what that matters to you. This story was obviously on my mind and on the mind of many of the people in the community. If it wasn’t on your mind, then I hope that I was able to make you aware of it. I know the feelings I felt after hearing this story were the same that many of our listeners felt. When I told listeners how important donations were, they heard it. When the gentleman who donated the $300 called in and urged for others to donate, the audience heard it. There is no other communication medium like radio - and we really utilized it for the community good this week. We were able to communicate an important message and because of it, people and animals were positively affected.”
Wilson says she hopes that this experience shows that being a part of a community, whether it is Watauga County, Boone, or the listening community of the station, can bring people together and make something happen.
“In the case of this story, nearly everyone out there has a pet or has had a pet sometime in their life, so this was something that personally touched a lot of people,” described Wilson. “What happened to these dogs is a very disgusting thing. Cruelty and mistreatment of animals happens every day, but sadly it seems under radar because of everything else in the scheme of our lives. When an event such as this happens, it is an opportunity to shine a light on animal abuse. Hopefully we have sparked some awareness. Although we may not think about it much until something like this happens right in our backyard, it doesn’t mean that we don’t care. We do and the community has really stepped out and shown this.”
Wilson’s show has since raised $1,305 for the care of the dogs who will stay in a secure private kennel until a determination is made in the court case. For more information on how to help, visit http://www.wataugahumanesociety.org/donate/index.html.
