Local shelter provides safe home for animals

Jasper Ingrassia Contributing Writer

Correction: Previous print and online versions of this article did not credit the photos to Ally Maggio. It was incorrectly credited to Jasper Ingrassia. The online version below has been updated.

Do you love animals? Do you wish you could play and work with animals, even when you’re at college? The Humane Society of Westchester is a five-minute drive from Iona College, and accepts volunteers who wish to work with the animals there.

The Humane Society is a no-kill shelter, meaning the animals are not put down due to overcrowding. The shelter is home to cats, dogs and rabbits.

As a volunteer, you can walk dogs whenever you’d like during the shelter’s open hours. You may also be given tasks around the shelter, as needed.

There is a room full of cats right when you walk into the shelter. Volunteers can play with them, feed them and perform other duties. The animals at the shelter have access to comfortable beds, food, toys and species-specific stimuli to make their stay enjoyable.

As feral cat colonies are a growing problem in New York and other parts of the United States, The Humane Society has a Trap, Neuter and Return program (TNR) where they trap feral cats, neuter them, and return them to the area in which they were trapped. The cats that are trapped also receive vaccinations and have a small part of their ear chipped off, so they know which cats have gotten proper treatment. This is known as “ear tipping,” according to Keri Sershen, a staff member at the Humane Society of Westchester.

The Humane Society of Westchester also has a foster program where people can foster pets in their homes until the animals are adopted. The shelter provides foster parents with the supplies and education necessary to help raise the animal, and the foster parents supply the love. Time commitments can range from a few days to several weeks depending on how quickly the pets get adopted.

The shelter also accepts donations ranging from stuffed animals, toys and even peanut butter and hot dogs used for dog training. They also accept a variety of cleaning supplies such as paper towels, disinfecting wipes, bleach, brooms, large garbage bags and more.

If you would like to become a volunteer, donate, or learn more about Humane Society of Westchester, visit their website at www.humanesocietyofwestchester.org