What (Who) it Takes to Keep Things Running
The Heartland Pet Welfare Shelter takes a lot to stay running. First and foremost, our Shelter Manager, Penny keeps the pulse of the organization and simply makes it work. She coordinates our volunteers who must be at the shelter every single day, be it a rainy, shining, snowy, foggy or icy. Often she fills in for volunteers that have last minute life issues and can’t come in as scheduled. Each cage must be cleaned daily (some of our messy little kittens more often), food dishes cleaned and refilled, litter boxes cleaned, scooped and replenished (this also requires use of a fresh or cleaned scoop between boxes to avoid spreading any illnesses), bedding washed dried and replaced, and floors cleaned and mopped. Some cats also require medicine several times a day. We also have volunteers that socialize the cats and supervise playtime when several are let out together. Frequent runs to and from the vet are also a necessity.
Penny also fields phone calls, shows cats by appointment, picks up cats, maintains our presence at PetSmart in Sterling and Davenport, and finds time (somehow) to take pictures and write up descriptions of the cats up for adoption elsewhere on this website. It’s a fulltime unpaid job of dedication and selflessness. Thank you Penny!
Unfortunately, her job also entails the inevitable downside of having to turn cats and people away. We often have a 10:1 (or higher) ratio of requests to take in animals to those we can accept. I read a post that complained that we would not take in a sick kitten. People have to realize that we have only so much room and resources (that person could have volunteered instead of complained). In addition to lack of available shelter spaces, we are also limited by the daily ability of our volunteers to service the cats that we already have in our care. We don’t knowingly accept feral cats. Feral cats aren’t adoptable, don’t make good companions, and become terrified/aggressive when confined. Besides the danger they pose to our volunteers who still need to maintain their spaces, they are relegated to a safe but fearful life in the shelter. Some have been rehabilitated but volunteers skilled and willing to do that are not plentiful. Our goal of placing companion cats/kittens in homes would be quickly be displaced by maintaining a shelter full of lifetime resident unadoptable felines.
So, the next time you think about Heartland, please give thought to the selfless people who make the shelter run and understand that we can’t help every cat or situation without compromising our mission and the level of care each shelter animal receives. Sadly, there are just too many. Consider volunteering!
Brad Cate
