Michelle Yoon was a Foster Over Achiever when she unexpectedly adopted two kittens (Austin & Lucy) after bottle feeding them for many days. Courtesy photo
ANIMAL SHELTER News:
Valentine’s Day is over, but the fun continues, if you need a new love in your life, Santa Fe Animal Shelter is here for you. If a permanent pet is not in your future, pet related activities might be easier.
The first pet related project is not hands on in the home but may be right up your alley if you need to purge items from your home or add a few.
Santa Fe Animal Shelter has two thrift stores called, The Cat. They are always seeking quality items or shoppers that like to purchase those items. The locations are The Cat on Zafarano and The Cat on Camino Entrada, where dog lovers are also welcome.
The Cat on Zafarano is located at 3546 Zafarano Drive, just down from Target. The Cat on Camino Entrada is located at 2570 Camino Entrada and both locations can be found on the website at www.sfhumanesociety.org and on Facebook. If you have nice items to donate and always wanted them to benefit a great cause, both locations are available to receive items. The Zafarano store has jewelry, purses, nice furniture, and artwork to suit many styles.
Are you willing to volunteer at pet adoption events? The SFAS will allow you to take a pet from their facility and highlight it with other shelter volunteers. There is a variety scheduled throughout the next several months. A stint is usually three-hours and then additional volunteers will take your place throughout the day.
If you would like to try adoption on a short-term basis, many opportunities are available. Short stays for pets outside of the shelter are called fostering. Volunteers meet shelter dogs or cats and keep them for a brief period, about 2 weeks. It allows our furry friends some respite time away from the shelter. They experience love and caring home, which increases their likelihood of adoption. You can talk to the Adoptions Team for more information.
One Los Alamos foster family volunteer was Michelle Yoon. Yoon fostered kittens that were two to four weeks old and needed to be bottle fed.
“I didn’t foster with the intent to adopt,” Yoon said. “At this age, kittens need to be bottle feed around the clock. I know it sounds challenging but really, it is worth it. Being able to see the growth/ milestones that these kittens develop during this time is amazing to watch.”
Michelle found the staff to be immensely helpful during her volunteer project. “Barbara, Tony, Abby, and Dezi are few of the staff I have gotten to know there. They are incredibly compassionate, kind, and so knowledgeable at what they do,” she said. “They helped me understand my way around the shelter and to get to know the animals there. The knowledge I have picked up there really helped me when I began to foster.”
The goal of fostering does not require one to adopt, but sometimes that does take place. While someone might consider that a “foster fail,” the sunny side of that depiction is called, “foster over achievers.” Yoon was one of those over achievers and added new names to the family tree.
“My kittens names are Austin and Lucy. They are the cutest kittens ever. Lucy has thumbs in her front paws, so it looks like she has mitten feet. Austin is affectionate and loves to cuddle. They both keep my happy tank very full.”
Yoon found fostering extremely rewarding and was happy to give the kittens a well-deserved break from the shelter. She knew their break was important for their development. She was happy that staff offer all the training and supplies needed to be successful, so volunteers might try it.
To learn more about their work, visit their website or call them at 505.983.4309.
Kit enjoys a cookie for being a good boy. Courtesy photo
Cuddles gets a new toy from the local family of Mikey Aslam. A scholarship in Mikey’s name had collected pet supplies to assist the shelter. Courtesy photo