Locals
A Day at the Shelter:The folks who make the Humane Society
happen -- Caron Christopherson
As you pull into
the shelter parking lot, a gentle breeze carries the subtle scent
of cedar across your path. The dogs in the kennel are so used to the
shelter routine that their internal clocks have been anticipating
our arrival for the last quarter hour—they know that morning
walks are coming soon! The day begins with each dog and puppy getting
a chance to stretch its legs (and relieve themselves). Humane Society
staff and volunteers also try to incorporate a little obedience training
into walk time to give the dogs some mental stimulation and get the
pups started on the basics.
As morning walks commence, other shelter workers are checking
on the sick or injured pets and tending to their special needs. Medications
are given and temperatures are taken. If anyone needs veterinary care,
appointments are made. The shelter van is loaded up for the early
morning shuttle to the vet to drop off adopted pets for spay or neuter
surgery. While out and about, we pick up bedding from St. Vincent
de Paul and the Salvation Army, drop off photos and copy for our weekly
"Adopt A Pet" and "Pets of the Week" columns,
and run other errands.
"Morning meeting" is next on the daily agenda.
Everyone gets together for a quick run-through of animals expected
to be admitted that day, adopted pets that will be going home, any
planned shelter tours, meetings or extra volunteers scheduled, and
of course, poop report. Without getting into details, a sheltered
animal's output is important information about its health and overall
condition. There also is discussion on how each animal is eating,
observations about behaviors and which pets need extra attention,
walks or grooming.
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning…That's what occupies
morning volunteers and animal caregivers for the next several hours.
Each animal's cage is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected every day.
This is important not only to lessen the chance of spreading illness
or disease, but also to lessen the stress of being kenneled. Animals
by nature are not comfortable being confined near a used litterbox
or close to newspapers they have used to eliminate. As their cage
is being cleaned, each cat gets out to play, exercise and have a bit
of hands-on attention.
On Tuesday through Saturday, when noon rolls around, the
shelter is open to the public. The next three hours are busy with
potential adopters who come to visit with the pets, people bringing
in pets they cannot keep, animal control or law enforcement officers
bringing in found animals, supporters dropping off donations and just
a general buzz of activity. Volunteers are in and out, helping with
everything from office work to dog walking to yard work...whatever
needs to be done.
On an average day, two to three staff members handle the
routine animal care and three trained staff members do adoptions,
admissions, assist over the phone and respond to emergency calls.
In the midst of an adoption counseling session, the phone may ring
with a call from Central Dispatch asking for assistance with a pet
that has been hit by a car or an injured pig that was run down by
a pack of loose dogs. When one or two staff head out on an emergency,
shelter "customers" may have to wait or come back to complete
an adoption. With limited staff and the unpredictability of emergencies,
the patience of the public is very much appreciated!
At 3:00, the sign on the door is flipped over to "closed,"
but the day at the shelter is far from over. The dogs get another
walk before they are tucked in for the night, pets going to the vet
for surgery the next day are bathed and their paperwork is prepared,
litterboxes are tidied as the cats are getting settled, sick animals
are checked and medicated, and the Guinea pigs, birds, iguanas and
other pets are made comfy. There's another trip to the vet clinic
to pick up the day's surgery animals and take pets who have medical
needs. New arrivals need to be checked in, vaccinated, and if they
have fleas, it's bath time. And the day's paperwork is waiting to
be tended to once all the animal care is done.
Call-outs can happen anytime, and they do. Someone is
on call twenty-four hours, seven days a week to assist with injured
animals and other pet-related emergencies. Staff also work with local
law enforcement on complaints of animal neglect, abandonment and cruelty.
A few of our after-hours or unusual call-outs have included:
A request for assistance from the family of an elderly
gentleman, somewhat of a hermit, who was living about seven miles
deep in the woods just off an old logging trail. The call came on
December 31. The man was very ill and was not going to be able to
go back to his home in the woods. But left behind were sixteen dogs...dogs
who were not socialized and were terrified of strangers. By the time
we were called, one of the dogs was dead, and the others were in varying
stages of poor health. Since it was so far back in the woods, driving
all the way in was not possible. A toboggan was used to haul in equipment,
and our staff snowshoed to the site. The condition inside of the house
was not habitable. The odor of urine and feces made breathing difficult.
Two of our staff spent New Year's Day and the day after getting these
dogs to safety.
Another dog situation involved sixteen Alaskan huskies.
One dog was found dead at the side of the road. When a township employee
went to pick up the body, he heard several dogs barking on a nearby
hill. He climbed a snow-covered path to find fifteen emaciated dogs
staked out on four-foot chains—no food or water and only minimal
shelter. A township official called us, and we coordinated with the
Marquette County Sheriff's Office. At 9:00 in the darkness of night,
we went with a deputy to investigate. The dogs began frantically barking
when they saw us, they definitely needed help. Calls were made quickly
to a volunteer, another staff person and a township employee to help
in the removal and transportation of the dogs. One by one, the dogs
were walked or carried down the hill through knee-to-hip-deep snow.
At midnight, a veterinarian was called to meet us at the shelter to
examine the dogs and start the documentation and collection of evidence
needed to make a case against the neglectful owner. The dogs were
with us for the next few months. They required special care, and in
addition to the "regular" kennel full of canines, our fifteen
huskies needed four walks a day each. It was a long couple of months,
with lots of help from volunteers. The owner eventually pled guilty
to the charges. Three had been so traumatized by whatever happened,
that they were terrified of strangers and were not adoptable. With
help from the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association and local mushers,
we were able to find homes for the other twelve.
It has taken a lot of hard work, dedication and teamwork
to build our small, non-profit humane society from the vision of two
ladies, Ruth Larson and Viola Erickson, who sheltered unwanted pets
in their own homes. Since our humane society organized in 1975, we've
gone from sheltering a few hundred pets a year to nearly 1,600 homeless
animals in 1999. The services we provide have grown over the years
as we have done our best to respond to the needs of our community.
None of this would have been possible without the continuing support
of a wonderful network of volunteers, donors, schoolchildren and teachers,
business and community leaders, and so many special people that we
just call on who are there to help. We couldn't get through each day
without that support.
—Caron Christopherson
The public is invited to our 25th Anniversary Open
House on Sunday, July 23, from noon to 3:00 p.m. The shelter is located
at 84 Snowfield Road in Negaunee Township (off U.S. 41 West). We will
celebrate with refreshments, shelter tours and fun activities.
