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| Photo via AHS Brenda (left) and Sharyn currently have five sponsors each. |
Due to their physical deformities and older age, sister cats Brenda and Sharyn receive extra support through the Associated Humane Societies’ Share-A-Pet program at the Popcorn Park Zoo in Forked River. The 9-year-old cats, which were rescued together and brought to the shelter a year ago, both have vision issues. Brenda is blind because she has no eyes; they were removed after she came in with them ruptured. Sharyn, who was born with inverted eyelids, has limited eyesight due to reconstructive surgery.
Although “most people want the perfect pet,” said Colleen Buchanan, AHS’ sponsorship coordinator, it is because, not in spite, of their unique conditions that Brenda and Sharyn are part of this special arrangement. The Share-A-Pet program enables individuals or groups, through sponsorship, to care for a cat, dog or zoo animal at the center that is older, has a handicap or medical issues, or has been overlooked by potential adopters.
“They’ve been injured, abandoned, abused, neglected, they’re elderly. They already are sick, and we try our best to get them back to health and take care of them,” Buchanan explained. “Sometimes they come to us because people, not thinking, buy a monkey. Well, they don’t have any business with a monkey. We’ve gotten cougars the same way. They get a cougar, and they’re not supposed to have a cougar. Now they can’t go into what you would call a regular zoo. We’re a rescue zoo.”
Individuals, couples, families, classrooms, schools and extracurricular groups have sponsored a range of different animals at the center since the program formed in 1978.
“It’s something for them just to be involved with,” said Buchanan. “It’s a good way to teach children to respect animals, too.”
Brenda and Sharyn currently have five sponsors each. About 20 cats and 28 dogs as well as 100 zoo animals, including bears, cougars, llamas, donkeys and ducks, to name a few, are now available for sponsorship.
The sponsorship dues, $10 a month per animal for cats and dogs or $4 a month per zoo animal, help provide for their neutering if needed as well as their annual exams, inoculations, preventive treatment and any specialized care they require. Sharyn, for example, needs artificial tears because of her condition.
Any funds that exceed the cost of the sponsored animal’s care are applied to all cats and dogs in the program.
Depending upon the animal’s special needs, sponsors are also allowed to visit their respective pets, take them on walks, bring them treats or stay and play.
Some of them “are elderly or have arthritis, just like we do,” said Buchanan. “We get older, and we get ailments, too. So they’re limited sometimes to how far they can walk.”
Sponsors also receive a color photo of their sponsored animal as well as a letter regarding the animals’ health and activity. Free admission to the zoo for the length of the sponsorship and a copy of AHS’ publication, Humane News, are supplied, too.
“It’s really good. It’s good for people who can’t have a pet, who are allergic, or whatever reason they can’t afford to have a pet at home. So for a few dollars a month, they can,” said Buchanan.
“What’s the alternative? Where would (the animals) be if they weren’t here, being helped? They would wind up being out on the street, put to sleep, God only knows what,” Buchanan added. “If we didn’t have this program to bring them in, what would have happened to them? Who knows? We get overrun with cats and dogs here, not only cats and dogs – we have lots of other animals: rabbits and iguanas. What would happen to them? I don’t know. I hate to think of what would happen to them.”
Buchanan, who has been working at the center for 28 years, currently shares her office with Brenda and Sharyn.
The cats in the program live in Kitty City, a two-room location with an upstairs and outdoor area complete with heated floors, trees and beds as well as videos of birds and chipmunks. However, Brenda needs to be kept in a separate area for safety purposes since she cannot see and may hurt herself if she falls while climbing. Her sister, Sharyn, is kept with her.
Brenda “knows where her litter box is, her water bowl, food bowl. She’s extremely explorative,” Buchanan said. “I have a gate into my office; they have to stay in here with me. But if I move the gate for a minute, she’ll wander out down the hall. She’s very adventurous. She’s not afraid of anything.
“I like them in here. They’re company for me,” she added.
Most of the animals in the program are available for adoption, though some of them have been willed to the center and must remain there.
Brenda and Sharyn must be adopted together. The best person to adopt the two cats would be somebody who loves cats, wants elderly felines and “understands that one is handicapped but she’s really not,” Buchanan said.
For more information about the program and available pets, visit ahscares.org or call 609-693-1900.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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