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By Wendy McCardle

wmccardle@altoonamirror.com

BEDFORD - To say that Ruth Loughney-Mook is an animal lover might be an understatement.

A visitor to the 83-year-old's Rainsburg-area 100 acres might be welcomed, at the end of a long dirt road at the crest of a small hill, by a handful of adopted dogs, chickens, roosters, wild cats - and a large brown horse named Champ.

Champ is likely seeking carrots, which the octogenarian offers along with gentle pets and nose-to-nose snuggles.

Her love of creatures big and small started with her childhood, Loughney-Mook said.

"It's in the family," she said. "We all do care about animals. My family always had animals."

Loughney-Mook grew up in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh with her suffragette mother, Clara Weitz Shaffer, who graduated from college at the age of 18, her father, Adam B. Shaffer, a graduate of Yale Law School, and five siblings.

"They couldn't find me one day when I was about 3 years old," Loughney-Mook recalled. "They finally found me in a doghouse with a German shepherd and her puppies. No one could go near those puppies. But she let me."

Her family was "interesting," she said, talking about the importance of education, athletics and animals, of course.

Brother George was the first professional player signed to the first Steelers team, back when they were called the Pirates. Another brother was in the CIA.

In her adulthood, Loughney-Mook was a member of the Bedford County Humane Society Board of Directors. Then, in 2007, she and Bedford resident Ruth Cummings took over the leadership of Fix-a-Pet, which pays for spaying and neutering of pets in the area.

"We spent about $10,000 last year helping people get their pets fixed," Loughney-Mook said. "The poor little cats have kitten after kitten after kitten, and it's just so sad. There's so many who need homes."

The woman with the kind eyes who whispers softly to her array of animals has a dream to further help two- and four-legged creatures - in the shape of a mobile clinic that can attend to every possible need of injured or sick animals.

To pay for that dream, which is expected to cost as much as $50,000, Loughney-Mook hopes to publish a series of stories she's written about some of her most beloved and interesting pets. Among them are Cheyenne, an Appaloosa horse addicted to food, and Ned, who was at one point the world's largest living pig.

"That's my dream," she said of having her stories published and teaching life lessons to youth. "That's my wish. I think the best is yet to come. If I get money, I'll put it to good use."

Loughney-Mook has a plethora of stories of other animals, too, like Cecilia the Crow who had an obsession with Placido Domingo, Marie the parakeet who would watch wild birds outside the window, and a horse that broke into her home one night and stood in her kitchen, eating bread on top of the refrigerator.

In her spare time - which is limited after taking care of her and others' animals - Loughney-Mook is a substitute teacher at Bedford and Hyndman schools, a knitter of mittens for the neighborhood children and a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

"I'm trying really hard to live my life right without hurting anyone or anything," she said. "I ought to be doing alright by the time I'm 83."

Susan Smith, co-founder of the Countryside Animal Sanctuary taking over the old Robert P. Smith School in Hopewell, met Loughney-Mook about nine years ago when both were working for the Bedford County Humane Society.

"I love working with her," Smith said, adding that she hoped the animal sanctuary will work with the Fix-a-Pet organization. "I love Ruth. She is the sweetest, good-hearted, strong-willed woman that I know of. When you see her, she is always happy and has a smile on her face."

The first thing you do when you see Loughney-Mook is receive a hug, Smith said.

"It is amazing what she accomplishes at her age. Ruth is a great role model for the woman of today," she said.

Loughney-Mook never goes to the doctor and participates in water aerobics at the Hollidaysburg Area YMCA a few times a week. She moves quickly and effortlessly around her grounds, cooing softly to her animal menagerie along the way.

"I don't know why people are quiet about their age," she said.

"Just keep on trucking," she repeats over and over again. "You never know."

Mirror Staff Writer Wendy McCardle is at 946-7520.