As the office comes to life two hours before the Whatcom Humane Society opens, the animals that live there begin to wake as well. A torrent of barks and yelps, punctuated by the occasional soft meow, echo through the concrete hallways of the large building which acts as one of three locations for housing homeless animals provided by the WHS.
Sarah Fedecky, a volunteer of two years for the WHS, stoops at the gate to a kennel and reaches through the chain link. She offers a small handful of treats to Tucker, a small, tan Pit Bull puppy, who stares at her with large brown eyes from the back corner of his run. He raises his head, warily considering the food for a moment, before putting his head back down on his bed.
 |
Mia, a 5-year-old Siamese mix, was surrendered to the WHS by her owners. |
“He is pretty afraid of people,” Sarah said, withdrawing her hand from the gate. “We’re working on that though.”
Originally from England, Fedecky has always had a strong connection with animals. She moved to the US when she married, but instead of a ring to celebrate her engagement, she asked for a dog to mark the occasion. After moving to Washington state to raise her son, Fedecky decided to volunteer a few days a week at the humane society.
“At first I just wanted to do a little,” Fedecky said. “But the animals sort of draw you in. The people too. Everyone is just wonderful.”
But in recent years, the humane society has seen a sharp increase in the animals being brought in by owners. Economic hardships are forcing Whatcom County residents to make hard choices concerning downsizing due to the toll of the national recession. The family pet is often affected.
“I don’t think there is anyone you meet, regardless of economic status, who hasn’t been affected,” Fedecky said, “Unfortunately, it’s often the animals who are hurt as well.”
The American Veterinary Medical Association reported over 77.5 million dogs and 93.6 million cats living as household pets in the United States. Before the recession, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals stated that approximately five to seven million of these animals are abandoned to shelters each year. Since the economic downturn, however, these numbers are on the rise as animal shelters across the nation report increases in animals being surrendered due to economic strain on their owners.
A recent report by the ASPCA stated that due to the economy’s stalling recovery, pet owners who have lost their jobs are having trouble coming up with the estimated $800 a year or more needed to care for a companion animal. Faced with foreclosures or downsizing, many owners are abandoning animals to humane societies like the WHS, leaving them on the street, or simply neglecting their necessary care; making animals the silent victims of poverty.
At the WHS, the number of animals brought in for voluntary owner surrenders have increased by 12 percent from 2009 to 2010 and Fedecky says that many of these cases cite economic reasons such as lay-offs or downsizing as the reason for the surrender.
“People lose their jobs, they are hit with foreclosures or need to move to an apartment so they have to surrender their animal to us,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking, but they have to do it if they can’t care for the animal any longer.”
Another startling trend that seems to be on the rise are instances of extreme neglect and cruelty toward animals. In 2011, almost 11 times as many animals were seized from homes where they were being severely neglected than in prior years and calls to the WHS Animal Control Dispatch about cruelty toward animals were more than doubled. The volunteers and staff work extensively with the animals rescued from these situations to ensure that they can be put in new homes.
This morning at the WHS, Fedecky helps to adjust the new blue collar on a tiny spaniel-mix named Sebastian. The dark-brown dog was seriously mistreated by his owners before he came to the humane society. Sebastian and several other dogs were kept in small crates and used primarily for breeding, and when he came to the WHS he was covered in mud and ticks, Fedecky said. Today, Sebastian sits at the feet of his proud new owners; his once dirty and tangled fur cut short and washed until it was soft and shiny.
“He is still pretty afraid of people,” Fedecky said, watching the dog as he trembled excitedly next to his new family. “But you can see how happy he is.”
The WHS not only provides a place for abandoned animals to live, but also provides grooming and medical care for them. A full-time veterinarian works on staff and moves between the two locations of the WHS in Bellingham, giving checkups and providing medications for sick or injured animals. While some outside veterinarians and groomers provide work pro bono, the WHS incurs a great deal of expense in caring for their rescued pets.
The WHS reported a total of $1.2 million in expenses for 2010. A large portion of the income for the shelter comes from contracts with animal control offices in Bellingham, Blaine, Ferndale, Sumas, Everson, Nooksack and the Lummi Tribal Areas. These contracts account for about 30 percent of the shelter’s necessary income and allow animal control agencies from the nearby cities to bring rescued animals to the WHS for care.
Animal Control Contracts such as these have been on dangerous footing with shelters across the nation as budget cuts at the city level provide less and less money for reimbursement to the shelters. Many humane societies in the U.S. are finding that the aid that they could usually expect from the state is being revoked in favor of other organizations which also need state funding.
The WHS renews its contracts with municipalities on a yearly basis and the group has faced similar funding challenges.
“We’re up against programs which fund emergency ambulances for the entire county; it’s understandable that there might be some resistance,” Fedecky said. “But without animal control, there isn’t anywhere for strays to go.”
The rest of the funding for the WHS comes from outside donations, animal adoption fees and fundraising. Nationally, shelters have been reporting a sharp decrease in private and company donations, but luckily the WHS has escaped major reductions.
Emily Wyss, the Volunteer and Foster Care Coordinator at the WHS, said that the shelter has not seen a large decline in donations.
“Thankfully many of our main patrons are still able to help,” she said. “In fact we made nearly $30,000 more this year than last year. It’s great because the donations all go directly to the shelters.”
The majority of the WHS’s income goes to pay for animal boarding, veterinary care, animal rescue and facility maintenance. The paid staff of employees at the WHS is very small and a great deal of the day-to-day animal interaction falls primarily on the volunteers.
Fedecky says that the support of volunteers at the WHS is essential to running the shelter.
“It never ceases to amaze me what people will do to care for an animal in need,” she said.
The Fairhaven store “Paws Awhile,” which provides income to the shelter, is entirely staffed and managed by volunteers. Also the majority of animal socialization at the shelter is done by volunteers. Volunteers teach the dogs and cats simple commands such as “sit” and “stay” as well as simply teaching abused animals them how to let a person pet them without fear. In many cases, socialization is essential because many pets come from situations of neglect and abuse and need to be able to trust humans before they are ready for adoption.
Many of the volunteer programs at the WHS are focused on bringing local kids and shelter animals together. The Sehome PAWS class is an enrichment program organized through Sehome High School. For three years, students have been coming to the WHS every Tuesday to walk dogs, play with cats and generally provide love and affection to the animals waiting to be adopted.
Fedecky said that it is often incredible how well the students and animals respond to each other and that the attention the students provide the animals is extremely well received.
“It’s hard on many of the animals to be secluded in their kennels,” she said. “But at the same time, some pets come in who have been severely neglected and this is the most love and attention they’ve ever had. They are so happy.”
While volunteers for the shelter are not in short supply, the WHS is still faced with growing numbers of abandoned and surrendered pets. In cases of a possible surrender the shelter often works to provide cheaper alternatives for animal care expenses to help keep pets with their owners.
The WHS runs a pet food bank which donates food to the Bellingham Food Bank, Blaine Food Bank, Lummi Indian Reservation Community Center and other low-income community groups. They also provide low-cost pet vaccination, microchip and dog license clinics and have helped create the Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) which provides low-cost alternatives to residents of Whatcom County.
 |
Rachel, a volunteer from the Sehome PAWS class sits with a pit-bull puppy named Tucker. |
Toward the end of the day, Fedecky joined a small group of volunteers gathered outside of the Pit Bull, Tucker’s kennel. The fearful puppy had laid his head in the lap of one of the Sehome PAWS students and was quietly letting her pet him. For a dog that had been so neglected by humans, this was a great thing to see.
“We see the best of the human race here and we see the worst,” Fedecky said, watching the exchange, “But you really do see more good than bad.”
