by Rowena Mills
Beth Herrington is a monumental figure in northeastern Oklahoma and beyond — literally. A group of citizens commissioned a life-sized bronze sculpture of Herrington holding a little boy by the hand, which now stands on the grounds of the Thompson House in Tahlequah. The statue is a fitting tribute — Herrington taught elementary music in Tahlequah Public Schools for 48 years. And it’s in a fitting location — she was a driving force in saving the Thompson House and transforming it into the Cherokee County Civic and Cultural Center.
Herrington also has made her mark through decades of work in organizations on local, state, and national levels. She has given historical downtown walking tours, has produced cable television shows, and has written books — she is finishing her fourth. She has received many honors, and a street in Tahlequah was named for her near Cherokee Elementary, one of the schools where she taught.
Through it all, Herrington has rescued, rehabilitated, and adopted out a steady stream of homeless cats and dogs. And she has kept many of them in her home during the years.
Permanent Residents
You could say Herrington comes by it naturally. She recalls, “One of my first experiences with rescue was when my mother rescued a male kitten named Tiger and was going to find him a home. Several people were interested, but she was so picky about applicants that she ended up keeping him for the rest of her life.”
After Herrington’s mother died and her father was in the hospital, she parked her car near the hospital sign during a winter storm. A cold, wet male cat jumped into her car and stayed there overnight until Herrington came out the next morning. She named him HP, and he lived with her for the remainder of his life.
Herrington doesn’t have to look far to find needy animals. She and a fellow teacher rescued two dogs from abusive situations they had observed. They bought one of the dogs for $50 to ensure its safety.
Herrington fostered some dogs for the Cherokee County Humane Society and kept them.
“Cats have migrated to my house,” Herrington says. And some of them arrive through human intervention.
Stories of their rescues tug at your heart. A friend of Herrington’s found River, a pregnant long-haired gray-black cat, underneath a liquor store near the river. River and her four offspring now live with Herrington.
“On two occasions, kittens less than two months old were dropped on my porch,” Herrington says.
She continues, “Before six o’clock one morning about 12 years ago, I found a little Chihuahua fastened to my back door. She was about 10 or 12 years old.” Herrington named the little canine Mam’selle, and she lived with Herrington until she died suddenly on June 2, 2024 — Herrington’s last dog (or should we say latest?).
About 10 years ago, a neighbor rode to Herrington’s house on a bicycle to tell her about a husky puppy tied in the yard of a woman who was threatening to have him put down. Herrington drove there and opened the car door, and the pup jumped in when another neighbor untied him. Herrington boarded him for a few days and then found a husky rescue group in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The president of the group told her what to do to help the pup — by then named Tah-le.
Herrington had a veterinarian check out the husky, and she then took him to Tulsa. Rescuers there took the dog in relays to Oklahoma City, then Amarillo, Texas, and then Albuquerque, where the rescue group already had a home for him.
Ongoing Rescues
The rescues continue.
“Summer before last on July 4, someone left a big crate with 12 little old dogs in it in my driveway in broad daylight — various breeds,” Herrington says. She worked with the local animal control, which sent the dogs to Chicago to be adopted.
Herrington recently rescued a small dog running in the street at Northeastern State University. She and some students stopped traffic to get him to safety, and a veterinarian luckily found the dog’s owner.
Every day, Herrington feeds neighborhood strays. She rescues as many as she can and has them neutered or spayed.
One of the newest arrivals is Snowball, a gray-and-white cat who showed up in fall 2023 when she was a few months old. “She is very loving,” Herrington says, “but she doesn’t like to be held.”
Love for All
Herrington loves all types of dogs and cats. “I have had Russian blue cats, Siamese, calicos, domestic shorthairs. I really love Russian blues. I have had all kinds of dogs, mostly large breeds — collies, lots of Labs, huskies, mixed breeds. One Lab lived to be 13 years old. I gave him insulin shots for five years.”
She adds, “My previous dogs were in fenced yards and could run and play. They had doghouses and good shelter. Every year on July 4, I sat in the dog yard with them until the fireworks were over.”
What do cats and dogs like? Herrington says, “Cats love balls and wads of paper to play with. Cats like to climb and destroy curtains. Pups like big stuffed toys to carry around. In her later years, Mam’selle didn’t like anything except to sit in my lap and sleep on my bed.”
But most of all, Herrington says, “Animals want to love and be loved, just like people do.”
And love is why Herrington has touched so many lives — children, adults, cats, and dogs.
