I thus finally am volunteering, too.I have been volunteering at a local animal shelter for the past two months, ever since I came back from California. I knew this would get emotional and depressing at times, and I was right. But what bothers me more than these homeless animals is the negligence of the people in that town. The stupidity from some of the callers enrages me. And it enrages me even more because these people then pass on their problems to the animal shelter and its volunteers. We are VOLUNTEERS, we earn no pay.
My first observation of the area was that all the dogs we get are unneutered, mostly male. The dogs are allowed to roam the neighborhood and nothing is done about it (nothing can be done about it because there is only one animal control officer for the town of 12,000 and he's busy catching aggressive strays as it is.) unless an animal attacks a person or another animal.
The shelter does not take in surrendered pets, but exceptions are made on a case-by-case incident, such as an owner dying. That happened recently to three youngish cats who then were brought in, traumatized and scared. They eventually settled down and luckily all three were found new homes through a county-wide adoption program.
There is a feral cat problem in town. One woman called and asked if she could drop off two of her dead friend's cats. She was hesitant to tell me the story, but in the course of her oratory she confessed that she didn't have two, but twelve, and that those cats were really hers. "I think it's a sin to neuter an animal" she told me. Oh fine, I thought, and when you get overwhelmed with cats you think you can just dump off all your excess on the city?
The animal control officer is well-known within the community. Everyone calls him by his first name and everyone expects him to take care of the problems. The man is overstressed. I know he's basically kind to the animals, and anything else that may be said about him is probably a vicious rumor.
Just a few days ago while I was at the shelter a woman called. She sounded in distress. "My pet is dying and I need the ACO (Animal Control Officer)to come over and help me!" she told me.
The ACO wasn't in the office, he was perhaps out trapping strays.
"Can't you take him to a vet?" I asked.
"The vet won't take him because the pet needs to be tranquilized."
"I'm sorry, but he isn't here. You are going to have to call the police department and they will dispatch him."
The woman was not pleased. "What am I supposed to do? Take my dog out into the desert and shoot him?"
What did she expect the ACO to do? He doesn't carry drugs or tranquilizers on him as he is not a veterinarian licensed to do so; all he has is a pistol. It sounded like the woman just didn't want to be a responsible
petowner. The woman hung up before I could get the police number.
People drop their unwanted animals at the Safeway in town. We are always getting calls from that area of loose animals running around scared. A few weeks ago two beagle pups were trapped there and brought to the shelter. Both were adopted out but a few days ago two more very similar beagle pups were brought in. They look like they are from the same litter. They are tan and white and bark incessantly. Both are in need of some training.
We also have two vicious pitbulls that were brought in this week. They killed a dog that had gotten into their yard and now the owner of that dead dog wants to sue the owners of the pitbulls. The owner is trying to build a case despite there being a city ordinance about unleashed or unlicensed dogs running loose. The pitbulls will stay at the kennel until this case is resolved. This could take weeks, months. One dog was at the shelter for ten months while his owner was in prison. The dog is now back with the owner, tethered to a shed.
So these are just some of the issues. We have had much luck finding homes for most of the cats and dogs. Ferals are altered and then released nearby. I am fostering three kittens right now that started their life as strays somewhere. I think two of them will make it to loving, affectionate cats.
Another volunteer at the shelter has been there a year and stops by most days to tend to the cats. She is a passionate cat person and is very devoted to them. She is an angel for these animals. Yet she's already burned out from all that she has seen and heard at that shelter. I don't know how long I'll be there, but the friendships I have fostered there have encouraged me to stay on. I was recently asked if I were interested in taking over the job as photographer for the website. I agreed to do that.
We now have eight dogs and six cats at the shelter. We have room for more cats but the dog kennels are getting pretty crowded and loud.
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