ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610280087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
A local animal protectionist died unexpectedly Friday at his home in Roanoke.
Waine Tomlinson, 54, apparently died in his sleep. An exact cause of death was not determined, but no autopsy was planned. He recently contracted a respiratory infection but was improving, said Tomlinson's sister-in-law, Linda Tomlinson of Wytheville.
A former hair salon and pet shop employee, Tomlinson gained notoriety when he founded the League for Animal Protection (LAP) in 1991. He started the organization after becoming concerned about the number of animals being euthanized at shelters.
"You can't call yourself an animal lover, and have a room full of dead animals that you've just put down," Tomlinson said in a 1996 Roanoke Times article.
LAP's original goal was tougher laws against animal abuse, but it broadened its cause in 1995 when it opened a non-euthanizing shelter in Fincastle. Strays and the injured are kept at the shelter, or with volunteers, until homes can be found for the animals.
"Not a day went by when he wasn't on the phone with the operation of the shelter or the group itself," said Jim Crist, Tomlinson's friend for 25 years.
Tomlinson and his organization made the news many times, including when LAP protested a veterinarian's putting a turtle to sleep after a woman brought it in to see if it was an appropriate pet for her child. The vet apparently believed the diseases turtles sometimes carry - including salmonella - might be a threat to her son.
During a 1994 Roanoke Times interview, Tomlinson said the protest might seem extreme to some people, but "if [people] don't show any compassion towards a turtle, they may not show any more toward a higher form of life."
Animals were an all-consuming passion for Tomlinson throughout his life, all the way back to his childhood.
"He inherited his love of animals from his mother," Linda Tomlinson said. And "if he believed in something or somebody, he stood by that conviction."
"Our house is full. He always had a fondness for animals, especially birds," Crist said. Along with two dogs, birds live in practically every room of the house Crist shared with Tomlinson.
At the time of his death, a pet-sitting business Tomlinson and Crist had begun was gaining clients after a slow start. It was far from a booming business, but through newspaper and word of mouth advertising it was starting to show promise, Crist said.
Memorial contributions may be made, in lieu of flowers, to the League for Animal Protection, P.O. Box 20206, Roanoke 24018.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB