This is the second article in a series on educational programs and volunteer efforts at area animal shelters to promote responsible pet ownership and manage the ongoing problem of pet overpopulation.

Working Together for Animal Welfare

Part Two

by Deborah Parkhill Mullis

Strong animal control laws and enough sworn officers to enforce them are basic to managing a burgeoning pet population; but the close association of committed volunteers, according to Linda Hagemann, volunteer coordinator of Charlottte-Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Control, helps a program hum.

Union County Animal Services recently asked county commissioners to fund a volunteer services coordinator for the new animal shelter on Presson Road in Monroe. After commissioners approved the position, Lt. Michelle Starnes and three experienced volunteers began building a volunteer base by holding informational meetings and volunteer orientations in February and March.

As new recruits get their feet wet at the Union County animal shelter, Hagemann talked about her experience at the animal shelter on Byrum Drive in Charlotte.

When Hagemann was hired five years ago she had one volunteer but said building a base of volunteers was easy, because people are passionate about animals. "It is exciting to see how you can make a difference with a growing volunteer program," said Hagemann, who oversees 185 volunteers. "We have such dedicated volunteers. Every time people join the volunteer program they bring new ideas."

While volunteers help exercise, foster, groom, socialize and train animals approved for adoption, that is far from all they do. They also lead educational programs such as the Call Back Program.

Every person who adopts an animal from CMPD Animal Control gets the educational DVD "Pets Incredible," which was developed to help shelters reduce the number of animals returned because of behavior problems. It gives step-by-step advice about common training issues in cats and dogs. Volunteers make follow-up phone calls about a week after an adoption to see if the DVD has been viewed. They go through a checklist of questions and assess how pets are doing in their new environments and offer help with transitioning issues. "This is one way to stop owners from getting impatient with their pets," she said.

Some volunteers have found a niche in the department’s on-site spay/neuter clinics held twice a month. Recently, 58 free spay/neuter surgeries were provided on a single Saturday to Mecklenburg County residents who otherwise would not have been able to make pet reproductive surgery a financial priority, Hagemann said.

Besides assisting with adoptions at the shelter seven days a week, volunteers are very active in off-site adoptions. Adoption fairs are held at SouthPark Mall the first Saturday of every month. "We hold events throughout the county but the mall has been our biggest success," she said, noting that 36 spayed and neutered pets implanted with a microchip found homes through SouthPark adoption fairs in February and March.

Through their outreach efforts, volunteers have helped increase community partnerships that not only promote adoptions but also financially support the shelter’s monthly public spay/neuter clinics, medical donation fund and media campaign.

"All of our outreach programs, our adoptions and our spay/neuter clinics utilize a few staff members and a large number of volunteers," said Hagemann, who had 38 volunteers working two shifts at the SouthPark adoption fair on March 3.

Volunteers may give as little as five or as many as 89 hours monthly. But no matter how many hours they give Hagemann looks for commitment. "We put them through a lot of training and they need to stay practiced. The staff has a growing reliance on volunteers," Hagemann said of the animal control department’s 80 employees. "Two banquets are held each year to recognize volunteers. One is a formal dinner and the other is a cookout. In addition, the animal shelter has its own Christmas party," she said.

More than 20,000 animals passed through CMPD Animal Control during the 2006 fiscal year. Statistics show that 5,747 lives were saved either through adoptions (3,606) or through reunions (2,141). Unlike private charitable organizations, government agencies don't choose which pets pass through their doors.

"We are required to take them all," Hagemann said. "You can’t get overwhelmed by the statistics. Each life saved is a life saved. Cumulatively, we hope to change the statistics."

This article was published Union County Weekly, Volume 2, Number 11 * March 16-22, 2007 issue. www.unioncountyweekly.com