The holidays are typically a busy time for pet adoption. But staff at the Saratoga County Animal Shelter are continuing to care for their furry friends in the new year.
It’s a calm, rainy afternoon and the lobby is filled with volunteers taking calls and coordinating care for the roughly 60 dogs, cats, and guinea pigs that currently call the shelter in Ballston Spa home.
Karlianna Russell is the shelter’s public relations coordinator, but her job covers far more than taking reporters on tours.
Russell spearheads efforts to match the shelter’s four-legged residents with prospective two-legged forever-families.
She says working at the job can be an emotional rollercoaster.
“Yeah, so, there are good days and bad days, just like everywhere else. I mean, seeing some of the animals when they come in either super-skinny or they’re scared because they were out on their own, you know, just watching them grow from shy, under-socialized, nervous animals to outgoing animals does make it worth it,” explained Russell.
While staff is always happy to see one of their animals bound out the front door, she says saying goodbye is no walk in the park.
“They are treating with love, care, respect, we absolutely adore every single one of them. There’s always happy tears shed when they find their loving homes because we get attached to them, we treat them like our own animals. Which I think is what makes us so special here at the shelter is we absolutely adore every single one of these dogs and cats, guinea pigs, birds. Whatever the animal is we pour our heart and souls into every single one of them,” said Russell.
The ASPCA estimates that roughly 17,000 companion animals enter shelters across the country every day, leaving shelter staff with an often-overwhelming task of keeping their kennels and cages as empty as possible.
Russell says cats and kittens were the popular pet in December. And Ginny, an orange tabby, hasn’t been with the shelter very long.
“About a month or so, she’s about 5-months old, she can be a little quirky sometimes. Definitely needs somebody who’s had cats before, understands cats, but she is very sweet, very loving,” said Russell.
Most of the shelter’s cats were adopted, but for those who remain, the shelter runs two cat reading rooms, where anyone can come and quietly read with the shelter’s shyer felines.
“It’s a really great program for students who need a break and need to do homework—need a quiet place to do homework. It’s a great place for young kids to learn how to read or to practice their reading skills. Especially on winter breaks like we’re at right now. Summer breaks, rainy days when you really don’t want to be outside but you want to get out of the house, coming to the shelter, sitting down and hanging out with some cats is not only beneficial for you, because having a furry companion next to you is always great, it always helps boost your spirit, but it also is very beneficial to the cats,” explained Russell.
Noah Buck is at the shelter with his two children and is grateful for a quiet moment.
“They actually are really good. My son is a non-stop reader actually so this is just him doing the same thing but putting a cat next to him. So, yeah, but it is good, it’s always great when we see them reading. Apparently, they, you know, just get used to voices which is good and helps them get adopted,” said Buck.
You can also find a handful of guinea pigs in various spots around the shelter, which Russell calls a welcome addition.
“So we’ve had rabbits, we’ve had babies things like that before, but to have guinea pigs that are this young, it’s definitely a learning curve. We’re trying to figure out exactly what the best health is for them; what type of food they should get, what type of hay they should get. And, again, that’s another benefit of having a veterinarian on staff, she’s trained in all aspects of small animal medicine. So, baby guinea pigs all the way up to large senior dogs,” said Russell.
The shelter receives more than $1.8 million from the Saratoga County budget and has an on-staff vet, as well as a trainer to ready dogs and cats for adoption.
