4:02pm
I'm proud of the Erie County SPCA!
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Seven years ago I walked into the Erie County SPCA for the first time. I was in search of a cat or kitten to love and to serve as a companion for my cat Maxwell. Immediately I felt welcomed by the staff who conducted an adoption interview. Friendly volunteers helped me find my kitten who I named MacKenzie. When I had found the perfect kitten, the staff took the time to talk with me about how to introduce the two cats and what to expect.
About six months after I adopted MacKenzie, I was in PetSmart where the SPCA had several kittens who were up for adoption. I fell in love with a brown tabby who I took home and named Ellie. (The fact that Ellie was at PetSmart was because of the SPCA’s impressive off-site adoption program.)
Six years ago I again walked into the Erie County SPCA for the volunteer orientation. I wanted to give back to the organization that had given me my two cats. During the orientation, the volunteer coordinator told us about all of the exciting jobs and I made sure that I was first in line to be a cat room monitor volunteer. Since 2002, I have been in that position and I can not put into words the satisfaction and warmth I feel when I am able to help a family or a person adopt a new kitty member into their family.
Last year I was lucky enough to become a proud employee of the SPCA working in the Development Department. Though I didn’t think it was possible, becoming an employee of the SPCA has made me even prouder of what our SPCA has accomplished in the past, what the organization is doing now, and the plans for the future. Our SPCA was founded by one of the original communities concerned with animal welfare, and more than 140 years later we continue to be a leader in the animal welfare community across the United States.
Best of all to me, our SPCA is innovative. One of the innovations that I am personally involved with and feel passionate about, is the volunteer cat enrichment team called the AdvoCATS. Under the supervision of Krissi and Debby, our team (perhaps the only such team in the nation), works hard with cats who need socialization, need to be reminded that not all of the hands coming into their kennel are going to give them medications, or who just need some good ole fashioned love because they’re scared. The program is so successful that Krissi and Debby are asked to speak about it across the country.
I’m proud that my SPCA is a very proactive shelter. We are always looking for new and innovative ways to help animals while keeping the costs down. It is hard to fathom what the SPCA could accomplish if we had a larger shelter. An addition to our shelter could help us to use the facility more effectively and efficiently and thereby help more animals. It makes me excited just to think about what we could do with the help of zootoo.
The Erie County SPCA is a wonderful organization and I am blessed to be a part of it. I send the best of luck to all of the shelters involved in the zootoo Shelter Makeover Contest! (But of course I am rooting for my SPCA!)
