Shelter animals now have 'Friends'
November 24, 2010
By Adrian Hirsch
By Adrian Hirsch
As the Metro Council and Companion Animal Alliance battle over budget issues involving the separation of shelter and enforcement functions at East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control, a new non-profit has already improved the lives of animals confined to the shelter.
For the past year, Friends of the Animals volunteers have intervened by providing human and humane interactions essential to the welfare of shelter animals. “We are the people who work hands-on, day-to-day with the animals [at the EBRACC facility],” explains Paula Schoen, Friends of the Animals founder and president.
Through its Facebook page, website and adoption events, the non-profit’s small cadre of volunteers has swelled to a dedicated corps of 75, many of whom have become regulars and specialize in either adoption or shelter work.
While other new organizations—Project Purr and Yelp!BR—remove animals from the shelter and place them into adoption programs, Friends focuses on the pets who remain, awaiting reclamation by an owner, adoption, rescue or even euthanasia. “We are there to make sure the dogs get correctly treated correctly and walked,” says Schoen. “We work with the adoption dogs and the strays on a daily basis. We hold offsite adoption events for dogs and help people who come to the shelter looking to adopt a dog or cat.”
Undoubtedly, the best way to enhance the quality of a shelter animal’s life is get the animal out of the shelter and into a loving home—if only for a few days. “I think the community would get behind our mission if they understood it,” Schoen explains. “We want people to know what great dogs and cats we have at Animal Control. The best way to do that is by meeting the pets.” So, Friends of the Animals promotes short-term fostering of shelter pets.
The group is currently looking for families to foster the dog of their choice for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Most placements won’t become permanent; but, they give the animal exposure to people, fresh air, sunshine, exercise and one-on-one attention—a holiday from an indoor dog run. Furthermore, the more people the dog sees, the greater the chances of meeting his or her perfect match.
Even though Friends hosts weekly dog adoption events, the group does not own the shelter animals, so it does not keep any portion of the adoption fee. Nonetheless, during its first year, the group raised $15,000 to $20,000 mainly from small donors including children who held drives at Trinity, Runnels and Episcopal schools.
The funds were dedicated to installing ceiling fans, elevated dog beds with fleece covers and insulation in the open-air kennels and expensive grates for puppy kennels that keep tiny animals dry after the kennels are cleaned. Next year, the group aims to acquire a trailer or t-building to expand the vet’s cramped quarters with a post-surgical recovery area.
As Friends of the Animals celebrates its first anniversary, Schoen and her volunteers await the resolution of the city-CAA stalemate. They hope for a compromise but realize: If the alliance is ultimately abandoned, shelter animals will need Friends more than ever.
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