Volunteer numbers at animal shelter low during summer months
Students may leave Mount Pleasant in droves over the summer, but the animal companions some abandon stay.
The Isabella County Animal Shelter struggles with a low amount of volunteers as the student population decreases in summer months.
“We have a fantastic group of volunteers from Central Michigan University,” said Jill Irving, executive director for the Humane Animal Treatment Society, 1105 S. Isabella Road. “But, we do see a lessening of volunteers during the summer.”
Irving said the shelter relies on people coming in to walk dogs and help socialize the cats. This interaction gets the animals used to people, Irving said.
The shelter received new 6-by-8-foot housing for the cats, donated by HATS in April 2011. People can actually walk into the cat housing now, she said.
While Irving said the shelter does everything it can to prevent animals from being euthanized, they are not a no-kill shelter because of a partnership with animal control.
“It’s our last resort,” she said. “The procedure (to neuter and spay animals), is not high in cost, but people don’t realize how important it is. There are more cats in Isabella County than people.”
Despite the large number of animals the shelter takes in, Irving said there is a 90 percent adoption rate, which is fifth in the state of Michigan from 2010 statistics. She credited the success to members of HATS, who spend time and raise funds to support the animals.
Mount Pleasant resident Jen Souva, who has volunteered for four years, said she was apprehensive when she first got involved because of the emotional strain that comes with caring for the animals.
“I always thought it would be so sad,” Souva said. “But then I thought about if I wasn’t there, who else would care for them? I’m glad I did it.”
Mount Pleasant resident Ann Dunigan has volunteered for six years. She said memories of working with dogs Rudy and Princess encourage her to continue.
“Both dogs were so terrified of people that no one could ever get close to them,” Dunigan said. “They would cower and hide if a person would even look their way. It took me weeks to gain their trust enough to let me touch them.”
Irving said sometimes the shelter is not the best environment for animals to flourish in — that is why there are other programs.
She said the shelter is developing a buddy program where it can partner with registered student organizations and community members. People would pay a nominal fee of about 20 dollars to become a buddy to a particular animal. The funds would help to feed and provide medical needs for the animal, with buddies coming on a weekly basis to help move animals through the adoption process.
“We’re trying to find new and creative ways to get the public involved,” Irving said. “We’re a non-profit, and therefore donation driven, but our focus is to get the animals adopted as soon as possible.”
She said it is also looking to implement a program called Walk to Adopt, where volunteers would take dogs off site, and give information to the public about the dog’s need for adoption while walking them.
“We’re just trying to give these animals a better chance at life,” Irving said. “Fortunately, we have an amazing staff with people willing stay an extra few hours to care for the animals, even after they punch out.”
