“We give our pets the time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, pets give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.”
M. Acklam
Along the side of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society (MHHS) in Menands there’s a fence, and behind it is a large area for people to drop off donated bottles and cans. Different-sized bins and other containers stand ready for volunteers to unpack, clean and sort them. The money made from their returns goes directly to the shelter for its lost, abused and unwanted animals. This is where I met Paul, one of the volunteers for the shelter.
“I’ve been doing this for about a year and a half now,” he told me, smiling as he sorted through green and brown bottles. “I retired, but it got boring. I like it here.”
Paul has two dogs and four cats of his own, and all but one are strays. He’s one of many volunteers working on the Empties for Animals program.
The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society (MHHS) is a nonprofit organization providing shelter since 1987 for lost, abused and unwanted animals. The animal care facility is the largest in the Capital Region, helping and housing more than 6,000 animals per year. Not only do they care for cats, dogs, rabbits and hamsters, but also snakes, birds, iguanas, fish, horses, livestock and even llamas.
MHHS offers many programs like Empties for Animals. An important one is Save-a-Bull, since 60 percent of stray dogs received by the Humane Society every year are pit bulls or mixes, and 20 percent of dogs surrendered by their owners are pit bulls or mixes. Save-a-Bull was inspired by a group of volunteers and community members who are passionate about the breed and have a desire to change the many misconceptions about them. MHHS also provides a spay/neuter program, humane education, shelter tours, and more plus, of course, animal adoption.
“We have about 300 volunteers and they do a tremendous variety of things,” said MHHS Executive Director Brad Shear. “Most are involved in animal care: cleaning, walking dogs, and caring for cats. Some train the dogs to learn a couple of commands for when they are adopted. Some give extra time to sick animals to help them recover. Many volunteers are foster parents who take animals home temporarily because they are too young to be adopted or need to recover from medical issues.” (The two now-famous rescued pit bull puppies are in a foster home). “We have three satellite adoption centers in the Petsmarts in Glenmont and Latham, as well as the PetCo in Clifton Park. Those centers are open 7 days a week and are staffed solely by volunteers.”
Brad has held the position of executive director at MHHS for five years, but has worked in animal shelters for 16 years in four different organizations, most recently as the Director of Operations of the Atlanta Humane Society. Thirty people are employed by the shelter, including a volunteer manager and many direct animal care and customer service workers. MHHS has both a full-time and part-time veterinarian and veterinary technician, and even a cruelty investigator who is empowered to arrest.
“To carry out our work for the animals, MHHS receives no ongoing funding from federal, state or local governments or any other animal welfare organization, ” Brad said. “We rely on the public’s generous donations to support our vital services for the animals.”
MHHS has a wish list on its website, too.
“We always have the greatest need for cat litter and canned cat and dog food,” Brad stressed, “though we appreciate anything we receive.”
To see what else is on the wish list, apply to become a volunteer, look at animals currently available for adoption, find hours and directions to come visit the animals, or learn out more about the shelter’s many programs and services, visit the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society website at www.mohawkhumane.org.
Amy Wink Krebs lives in Albany, NY. She loves discovering cool things for kids and families in the Capital District, then sharing them with you. You can write to Amy at [email protected].