Sometimes, people or places touch your heart immediately, and you feel welcome and fortunate to have crossed their paths. That is how we felt when we walked in the door at The Scituate Animal Shelter In Massachusetts.
We chose this shelter located in Scituate, Massachusetts for our latest Adventure Of A Lifetime stop. Out of all the shelters in this state that we contacted and learned about, this shelter stood out for many reasons. The first reason was their excitement for our visit. The second was the meticulous way that they kept their Facebook page updated, not just with animals available for adoption, but sharing animals in their community that were lost. Their caring attitude, even on their Facebook page showed thru.
Their tagline is, “The Lucky Ones Come To Us”. And after meeting many of the animals in their care, we see that is true.
Ashley Davis, the shelter’s director so graciously played the latest game of “Stop Hounding Me!”. Ashley’s care and concern for her staff, animals and volunteers shows through in every word she speaks. Part of this shelter’s success is certainly due to her!
Their vision states that they are “working toward a time when every adoptable pet has a proper, loving home”. Do you think that is an impossible goal? If you visit this shelter, you may change your mind. How are they trying to accomplish this? We received the privilege of an in-depth tour of their facility and were impressed at the cleanliness and care that went in to even the daily operations of this shelter. Volunteers even make sure that the grounds of the shelter are welcoming and beautiful. What a treasure this shelter has in its community of caring and talented people!
From cleaning routines to volunteer walking schedules and knowing every animal in their care, their needs and their personalities, they are able to ensure that the animals in their care are taken care of. We did not feel heavy hearted for the animals when we left, in fact, we felt happiness that these animals found the right place to land until their forever home. Truly, “the lucky ones”. Even their feral cat program residents have truly found a soft place to call home for now. We fell in love with these cats.
We received an in depth look at how they take the time and proper measure to make sure even feral cats in their community are spayed, their kittens socialized, and the proper way to do this. Their website explains below.
“The Scituate Animal Shelter’s TNR program ends unabated reproduction, stabilizes feral cat populations, and improves cats’ lives by ensuring that they get vaccinated and dewormed so they can live a healthier life. Behaviors and stresses associated with mating – pregnancy, infected uteruses, yowling, and fighting – stop. Kittens that are young enough to be socialized will have a chance to be adopted and live a happier, safer life in a home.” We think this is absolutely an invaluable program.
On our tour, we saw food set aside for the elderly residents in their community. They call this program, HELP. This program provides pet food, supplies and other assistance to elderly ones that qualify. This program allows these residents to properly care for and keep their pets. How awesome is this?!
We had the privilege of meeting Moira on our visit, a daughter of one the amazing shelter volunteers. She greeted us with treats for Brickle and Digby and gifts. Children like Moira are learning how to properly take care of animals and are involved in many of the shelter’s programs for children. The Scituate Animal Shelter reaches over 4,000 school children in Massachusetts through classroom visits and even guided tours of the shelter. So from the very young, to the very old, this shelter involves so many in the community. And we believe that is why they are so successful. And why we believe they are so special. You know this when you walk in the door.
On every single one of our rescue visits on this Adventure Of A Lifetime, we see a pressing need. Fosters. Fosters are the only way that shelters like this can keep saving animals. Volunteers also make a huge difference by little things such as dog walking, feeding, and cleaning. We implore all of the animal lovers out there to get involved at a local rescue or shelter. Every single person involved at The Scituate Animal Shelter in Massachusetts contributes to the successful adoptions and happy ending stories often found and updated on their Facebook page.
The Scituate Animal Shelter is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill animal shelter that is primarily volunteer run and funded solely by private donations. The Shelter is staffed by two full-time staff members and five part time staff members, but a large portion of the work is done by their volunteers. They receive no state or federal government funding, and rely solely upon donations.
What does this shelter need? Fosters! Volunteers! Donations! Nothing new here for animal rescues. But when you decide to get involved in animal rescue by helping a shelter, surely pick one such as The Scituate Animal Shelter who is more than deserving. We will never forget all of the volunteers and staff here who touched our hearts and loved our boys.
Special thanks to Kim, Ashley and Diane!
Donate Now To The Scituate Animal Shelter
Visit Their Website For Adoptable Animals
Visit Their Facebook Page For Updates And Happy Endings
Scituate Animal Shelter
780 Chief Justice Cushing Highway (Rt. 3A)
Scituate, MA 02066
info@scituateanimalshelter.org
Phone: (781)544-4533
Fax: (781) 544-4535
