Today, while I was volunteering at the San Martin Animal
Shelter, a woman came in with three four-day-old kittens. She said
the mother had been hit by a car, she had hand-fed them overnight
but could not continue to care for them. She and her husband were
on their way to chemotherapy for his cancer treatment. We accepted
the kittens and contacted a volunteer who had a nursing mother cat.
She came in, took the kittens, and they are now being cared for as
members of the mother cat’s litter. This happens regularly.
Dear Editor,
Today, while I was volunteering at the San Martin Animal Shelter, a woman came in with three four-day-old kittens. She said the mother had been hit by a car, she had hand-fed them overnight but could not continue to care for them. She and her husband were on their way to chemotherapy for his cancer treatment. We accepted the kittens and contacted a volunteer who had a nursing mother cat. She came in, took the kittens, and they are now being cared for as members of the mother cat’s litter. This happens regularly.
A little later, a family came in looking for their dog. They went to the kennel area, found him, redeemed him and took him home again. Needless to say, the family and their pet were overjoyed to be reunited.
The reason I’m relating these incidents is that they took place on a Monday. In six weeks the shelter will be closed on Monday as well as Tuesday. The kittens would have died if left at our door, and the dog would have had to wait to find his family. Oh, by the way, the dog redemption and the three adoptions that occurred after I left resulted in over $400 income to the county. That would be lost, too.
I hope people will realize the impact that closing the shelter for an extra day will have. Our citizens expect to have the shelter open to accept stray and lost animals. They have the right to find their pets, and to adopt new pets. Where will they go on the days the shelter is closed, if the Board of Supervisors and Greg Van Wassenhove have their way? Please contact them and ask them to keep the shelter open for the good of our animals.
Elaine Jelsema, FOSMAS Volunteer
