Journals > Shelter Makeover > View Entry

It was an honor and privilege for our wonderful staff and supporters to meet Richard Thompson and the Zootoo team during their visit to the Cecil County SPCA. Mr. Thompson has already done so much to highlight the needs of animal shelters and to begin the mobilization of an “army” of animal advocates across the country.

As board president of the Cecil County SPCA, I know I should be pleading for the top prize of the $1 million makeover. But I recognize we were a late entry to the Top 20 and the other judges couldn’t make the last minute visit to see our operations.

So let me make a “modest proposal.” Give the Cecil County SPCA a voice in the ‘final three’ to be announced in Orlando on May 15. I think we have an important message to get out to the public and to other shelters that struggle, as we do, with limited resources but big ideas. Please give us that platform to speak through the powerful megaphone of Zootoo, regardless of any financial rewards of the competition.

Constantly begging for donations, or even the extraordinary opportunity of the $1 million Zootoo grant, is not the long-range solution to the problem of homeless or abused animals and the shelters that struggle to care for them. We believe that the Cecil County SPCA’s “AAA Agenda”—Alter, Adopt, Advocate—and our commitment to social entrepreneurship would be an important message for others to hear.

We provided a brief summary of our agenda in the clipboard materials supplied during your visit. We would be happy to discuss it further with the judges who were unable to tour our shelter. We believe that managing and leveraging limited resources wisely, an unwavering commitment to pre-adoption spay/neuter, effective advocacy and a willingness to raise the heat and volume in the political process are all crucial to a sustainable future for animal welfare organizations and the innocent animals they serve.

Sincerely,

Nancy Schwerzler

I had to work and couldn't make it to the Zootoo rally at the Cecil county SPCA but it was great to read the journal from the top Zootooer. Thanks for coming to Maryland to see all the terriffic work this shelter does every day.
I adopted a dog from the CCSPCA and I have returned to the shelter for the medical care they provide at a reduced cost to the public. Dr. McDermott, their fulltime veterinarian, and their medical staff, Susan and Erin, do such a great job. My dog has had some medical problems that I couldn't afford to take care of unless I could bring him to the clinic at the SPCA. But low cost doesn't mean low quality care. I am so pleased with the quality of care that Dr. McDermott and his staff give my pet. They work hard and do everything they can to make my dog comfortable and make sure he gets the best care.
I hope Zootoo will give this shelter the makeover so they can expand and upgrade their facilities to match the quality of the staff there and the services they give the animals.

As a cat person who has adopted my feline friends from the Cecil County SPCA, I apprecated Mr. Top Cat's comments on the great cat room at this shelter.
The one and only "Miss Kate" Benner created a standard of cat care and professionalism here that I have never seen anywhere else. She is the "cat whisperer" who can really tell what is on a cat's mind. She presided over the cat room on a daily basis since its inception and, although officially retired, you'd never know it. She continues to run the SPCA's thrift shop and is still a constant presence with all her feline friends at the shelter. She has been a powerful voice for the cats of our rural area who too often don't get the care and love they deserve.
Miss Kate has officially passed the torch to Carl Ewing to manage the cat room on a daily basis. He has done a wonderful job of carrying on the high standards set by Miss Kate.
Other shelters could learn a lot from this shelter on how to care for cats in the least restrictive environment. We hope Zootoo will award this shelter the makeover so they can expand their services to the many cats of our county who need protection and care.

All the supporters of the Cecil County SPCA were so thrilled to have Mr. Thompson and the ZOOTOO staff visit our shelter and we appreciate your kind words on what you saw during your visit.

The real heroes are the wonderful staff who make this shelter such a ray of hope for the animals, even tho they don't get enough credit and respect for what they do day in and day out. They often work around the clock for the animals and they even gave up their Christmas Day a few months ago to rescue 78 animals that were in danger of death! They put their lives, and family celebrations, on hold to help the animals.

The staff members put their lives on the line, too. Jerry Hawkins and Marty Poe, Jr., the animal control officers and cruelty investigators, not only risk attacks by animals on a daily basis but they help the police on drug busts where there are dogs trained to kill people to protect illegal drugs. They are heroes helping our police heroes. Thanks for all you do.

What a rollercoaster ride the contest was for Cecil County SPCA! After being in the top 20 for a long time, we fell down to 23 at the end. But then through some sort of miracle, Zootoo announced we were #20 and the judging team was coming to visit! We had just a few days to prepare and try to organize guests and we didn't know what time everyone should be there until a day before. But we rounded up mayors and county officials and volunteers and the wonderful staff of the SPCA worked so hard to get everything ready.
The dogs all got new red bandanas. The cats in the open cat room got some extra brushing. Even some of the sick dogs in the clinic and isolation rooms seemed to perk up a bit because they could tell something special was about to happen.
The children at the nearby Cecilton Head Start center worked all day to make their banner with pawprints to support the animals and show Zootoo their support for the shelter. It was their bedtime before the Zootoo team rolled out of town, so the children couldn't be there in person. But they were there in spirit.
Thank you Zootoo for including the Cecil County SPCA on the makeover tour. They work so hard every day for the animals and they would do a good job using the makeover to create a model shelter that would be a source of pride for Zootoo.

Thank you so much, Mr. Top Cat and the entire ZOOTOO team, for visiting the Cecil County SPCA. We know how tired you all were after all your travels but you were so kind and supportive during your Thursday evening visit to Chesapeake Bay country.

Our shelter may look good but it really has a lot of needs that the makeover could address. Our staff works so hard, with so little, to make life a lot better for the homeless and abused animals in our county. They put in 12 hour days to prepare for your visit when they learned on Monday that CCSPCA had been moved up to Number 20 and would be a finalist.

The CCSPCA has a lot of land that could be used to expand the kennels and develop new services to help the animals. A new air filtration system is really important to help prevent spread of disease. I'm sure they gave you their own list of needs.

For a volunteer like me, the CCSPCA is a unique place. I have seen so many handicapped animals-- a dog with 3 legs, blind cats and dogs, starved animals, etc. Other places might not be willing to put in the medical expense, or the time to find a good adoptive home, for animals like these. But CCSPCA looks at every animal as a future success story and moves heaven and earth to do whatever the animal needs. Please consider Cecil County SPCA for the makeover!

Instead of giving a million bucks to 1 shelter and $5,000 to each shelter, and have 19 shelters feeling bad. why don't you give ALL 20 shelters $50,000 and call it even for the first makeover that was horribly run. So ALL shelters are winners. ANY genious can figure out that would be the right thing to do...

Congratulations, zootoo team for a lot of hard work! Keeping us a part of the journey through your journals and the videos was wonderful. It shows how close the zootoo community can be and what we can grow into. Every shelter sounds like a place with loving people and all anyone can hope for is that the momentum to rescue animals, spay and neuter animals so that we don't have overpopulation problems, and to get the candidates to include animal issues in their campaign will continue. I've seen great things already come from this tour. Thanks again!

Hi Topcat! Thank you for sharing the journey with us. I've been following the tour and applaud all of the Top 20 shelters for welcoming Zootoo in style. Everyone has a lot to be proud of and I'm honored to be a part of this.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of the crowd at the Cecil County SPCA last night. What a thrill for our little community.

As a member of the board of directors for this shelter, I have to thank each and every employee of this organization. Jeanne and the crew do a phenomenal job of running this shelter. But, even when resources are limited, this staff somehow manages to keep everything running smoothly. This staff puts in much more time than they are ever paid for. Their dedication to the animals and their welfare always comes first. They deserve a round of applause and kudos for a job that is always well done.

Irregardless of which shelter wins the makeover, every single shelter is a winner. This contest has brought tremendous recognition to the shelters in this country and the difficulties that each faces on a daily basis. I can't thank Zootoo enough for bringing this into the forefront and making this possible.