A husband-and-wife team who tired of witnessing abused animals on their daily newspaper route are starting a Tangipahoa Chapter of the Humane Society of Louisiana.

Lynda and Randy Stegall of Hammond, along with friend Sandra Broussard of Springfield, are also asking others to pledge their aid by attending an organizational meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on East Pine Street in Ponchatoula.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Jeff Dorson, the executive director of the Humane Society, will be the guest speaker. His role will be to help the agency, since the Humane Society will be the sponsoring agency.

“It's up to them to succeed,” he said of the newly forming chapter.

Thursday's meeting is a membership drive, Randy Stegall said. Anyone who is an animal lover and who has seen their plight should come to the meeting and join the chapter or donate their time, money or blankets and old towels along with cans of dog and cat food.

The Stegalls said a sad experience put them on their path.

One day on their route they noticed a beautiful but badly neglected dog staring miserably at them. Tied around his skinny neck was a thick, heavy chain, topped off with an iron padlock. He hunched over, trying to protect his internal organs from further damage, Randy Stegall explained.

“That's what a dog does at that stage,” he said. “It kept looking at me, like he was saying ‘help me', and I wanted to so badly. I called for days. I called and reported the situation. I watched this dog every day ... just get sicker ... and thinner. It was so sad. We'd buy sandwiches and feed it. But it was just too late. And we called for help.”

The couple named the dog Hope, and that is what they carry with them today, they said, hope that others care about those in need who don't have a voice.

Broussard has property in Livingston and plans to use it to house animals while they are being treated and rehabilitated. The no-kill rescue center will be separate from the Humane Society but will work with them, she said.

People who want to get rid of old igloo dog houses can call and the Stegalls will pick them up and repair them as shelters for dogs. Call 370-7558 for more information on the meeting or donations. This is the same number the Stegalls will use to respond to complaints of neglect, abuse, starvation, disease and thirst of pets after the organization is past the planning stage.

The organization needs members and volunteers. A membership fee of $20 per person or $35 per family will go to essentials for the animals that are rescued.

The chapter hopes to increase the level of enforcement and educate

people about state animal cruelty laws, Stegall said. Both the Stegalls and Broussard hope to secure more financial aid for the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Control Center located on Club Deluxe Road.

They said the center is currently understaffed and doesn't have enough equipment to handle the needs of abused and neglected animals in the parish.

They plan to lobby for more money to be budgeted for the center by making it a top priority through raising awareness and money through fundraisers and other events.

The Humane Society of Louisiana was formed in 1988 and has chapters in Livingston, Acadia, Lake Charles, St. Landry, Webster and Lafourche parishes. The group investigates cruelty complaints and assists law enforcement agencies in apprehending and prosecuting suspected animal abusers, Dorson said.

To learn more about the Humane Society of Louisiana, visit their Web site at Humanela.org or call 1-888-6-HUMANE.

“This is a good first step,” Dorson said. “The ground work is being laid.

“We continue to hear concerns from citizens that complaints are not being thoroughly investigated or that prosecutions don't seem to be going forward,” he said. “We'll help check the gaps in the system and see what we can do to improve and make more efficient the investigation of cruelty to animals.

“Our job will be to help the local shelter,” Dorson said. “So we'll look at the level of enforcement. And I understand they lost three people, so they're also understaffed. The animal control center seems to be last on the pecking order of parish concerns. They've got hand-me-down equipment and no marked cars.”

On Tuesday, Tangipahoa Parish Animal Control Center Director Jay Callais remarked on the importance of the newly established chapter.

He said it was a good step forward and was happy to hear the news and agreed that the center could use more funds.

However, two positions have been filled at the center, along with the hiring of a new officer, he reported, adding that only one other employee needs to be hired.

Callais said the center and its staff is doing the best that they can.

“We are doing our best to answer all of the calls that come in. We do have one marked truck,” he said. “Yes, we could definitely use more funds, and more equipment - and even more people. But any animal control center will tell you the same thing, even the Louisiana SPCA, with as much publicity as they get, will tell you they can use more funds.”

Callais said people need to remember to spay and neuter their pets and provide three basics - food, water, shelter.

“Anytime you have a pet, you could give them bedding, vaccinations for rabies by three months and not just three basics,” he said. “They need much more than that. You have to commit to that pet.”