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Apr

2008

6:23pm

Little Shelter with a Big Heart 4/8/2008

Posted by Richard t. (topcat) in Shelter Makeover

9 comments

As we pulled up to our first makeover tour shelter visit at Little Shelter Animal Rescue in Huntington, New York, I was surprised to see that the entrances were decorated with bunches of Zootoo.com balloons. Right away… myself and the Zootoo Crew were greeted by Maryanne Chernovski, the shelter president of 20 years and welcomed with open arms by the staff, community, and volunteers. Breakfast was also awaiting us....nice!

As our tour of the shelter began, it was easy to see that the place was cared for even though it was an older facility. It’s held up so well due to the staff’s dedication to following policies and procedures, resulting in the animals getting lots of “TLC”.

One particular area really caught my attention: the cattery. The cattery is made up of four rooms - added on as needed where almost 400 cats can roam free. Platforms, cat jungle gyms and cat beds lined these four rooms wall to wall.

The community support was outstanding. In the small amount of time that Little Shelter had to prepare for our visit, members of legislation, the town supervisor, and many supporters attended the event. Representatives of the press were also present from WABC, WNBC, The Daily News, Long Island News Tonight, Regional News Network NY (RNN) and The Long Islander.

Although it was my first shelter stop, I already know this journey of visiting the Top 20 Shelter Makeover Finalists is going to be as rewarding for all of us.

Congratulations and thank you Little Shelter for your kindness and providing the Zootoo.com Crew with an amazing tour!

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Discussion

Comment on this entry

9 comments found.

Daniel S. (DanonLI)
2 months ago

I just had the chance to view the video of zootoo's visit to Little Shelter. As a long-time supporter, and grateful adopter of some of their cats, I can't thank ZooToo enough for raising awareness of Little Shelter (and yes, other shelters around the country, too). But I agree with Richard, the Cattery is a magical place. I think that is one of the main reasons I sponsor cats at the shelter -- so I can visit them in the cattery from time to time! I'm torn in saying that I hope all other shelters paled in comparison to the Little Shelter (because I wish all shelters could be as wonderful as LS for the animals' sake!), but I can't think of a more worthy, and overdue, place for a Makeover!

Christine (Calipzo22)
2 months ago

Thank you for visiting us! The first time I walked into the cattery I was very surprised to see so many cats! The facility is older but we try to do the best we can with what we have!!

jlgiacob1
3 months ago

Best of luck with the contest and continued success with many many happy adoptions ! Janet (The Voorhees Animal Orphanage)

joygold
3 months ago

Thank you Richard, Zootoo and the Humane Society for visiting Little Shelter this past Tuesday. What an incredible day it was! It was such an honor to meet you and proudly show you around the shelter we love so dearly.

Mary S. (petmndr)
3 months ago

All the shelters that were involved in the contest are winners. Zootoo brought much needed publicity to all the shelters across the United States. You can't adopt a shelter animal if you don't know where the shelter is. Now thanks to Zootoo a lot of people know and lets hope the word will continue to spread. Thank You Zootoo for starting a snowball that will continue to roll.

Diane L. (sydney83)
3 months ago

When I lived in Huntington, NY, I was at the Little Shelter often and have known Maryann for close to 20 years. The Little Shelter is aptly named as it is little but you would never know it when you are there from the size of each volunteers heart. Maryann has battled weather, finances, size of buildings and much more, only to come out with the Shelter's head just above water and ready to rescue a few more animals. I guess I am very predjuice when it comes to this shelter as I have adopted two of my pets from there. No one deserves a makeover like they do. If you were there, you would understand why. PS - They are the only shelter that I know of that has a cemetery for our beloved pets who have passed from our lives.

joan h. (joni525)
3 months ago

Sounds to me as if they have been trying very hard to take care of a tremdous amount of cats. I wish them luck!

Penny N. (pennynickle)
3 months ago

Mr. Thompson, we are so proud to be one of your finalists and were very honored by your visit. Thank you so much for all that you and Zootoo do to better the lives of animals everywhere.