Hannah (me): Hi, I’m here with the Glen Cove Animal Rescue manager and owner, Diane! Today I will be asking Diane a few questions about shelter management and experiences throughout her journey in animal care. 

Hannah: Can you tell us about your background and what led you to become a shelter manager?

Diane: Well, I’ve always dealt with people. And of course always an animal lover, always had animals. I think that’s what directs me to my favorite job ever. What happened was, I was asked to come join the shelter. And at that time I hadn’t had any experience in this area, but of course loved animals and had cats so I climbed on board and soon it became part of me. It was just the absolute right place for me, being with animals and talking to people. And I’ve been doing it for 15 years now.

Hannah: How was the shelter funded and how does that impact your operations?

Diane: We’re a nonprofit so we are funded by donation. But because dogs are overseen by the state, we get a stipend, which is a very small amount of money, to do that part of the job. However, all the rest of our fund is by fundraising.  We usually only have about 10 dogs at a time. But as of right now we have about 70 cats so it’s very uneven. 

Hannah: Can you tell us some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in running the shelter?

Diane: I think one of our biggest challenges, especially right now and after Covid, is money and affording things. We have so many cats, and since we are a shelter which gives cats a home until it is no longer their home, we have elderly cats. That means that there are very big medical bills. And of course keeping them fit and happy, but thankfully we have volunteers to help us with that. I used to have what I call walk in donations where people would bring in a couple of cases of food, but these food donations have gone down. Not only do we need food, but things like cleaning supplies and paper towels which you don’t stop to think about. 

Hannah: Could you share a particularly rewarding experience you’ve had while working at the shelter?

Diane: Oh yes, there’s been lots of them! I’ll tell you, just coming in and seeing kittens and seeing them happy and healthy, and being able to take care of an animal that isn’t doing well. But recently, we had a dog come in to us via the SPCA because it was a cruelty case. She should’ve been huge, but she was about 85 pounds underweight. She was obviously used for breeding. So she was kept in her cage, and for years, did nothing but have babies. She was a Great Pyrenees, which are huge beautiful white dogs. But she was missing fur and there was no life in her eyes. But as the weeks progressed, she reacted to the kindness and good treatment, and you can see the light coming back in her face. She did get adopted. She was treated, she got fixed, and she put on a good amount of weight. I wish I had pictures to show you right now because she was so so rehabbed that it took your breath away. We also had a cat come in that was very sick. She was a full breed American short hair and she was dumped in a parking lot, in a plastic bag. We suspect it was a breeder. And since she wasn’t perfect, she was just tossed aside because she wouldn’t bring in money. But we took her in and I’m happy to say she is in a home now. Unfortunately, what happened to her was she had sort of a pushed in face, which happens when they’re overbred. But she found a family who took care of all her medical needs. Now she’s living in luxury with other cats and she is the princess. So that’s another recent story. She had a wonderful home for Christmas.

Hannah: In what ways can the community support the shelter and its residence?

Diane: Well needless to say, financially, but also volunteering is a very big thing.  Volunteers are very important, like yourself, you’re carrying the word of the good things we do and helping us go from here to there.

Hannah: Ok, last question- What role does the shelter play in educating the community in responsible pet ownership?

Diane: That’s a really good question, that’s my favorite. It’s amazing because even pet lovers and animals don’t know a lot. First of all, during the adoption, it’s not just walking in, taking an animal, and leaving. We like to educate on that particular animal, nevertheless, animals in general. When people come to volunteer, we have a lot of high school kids, and a lot of them have never been around animals, especially cats. I like to show them the cat side because there’s a lot to learn about, the cats and the dogs, that people don’t necessarily know just by owning one themselves. We also hope to alert people the different things that affect animals in the area like why cats shouldn’t be allowed out because there’s so many crazy things out there:  coyotes, many cars, and even people who might do them harm. So, we like to educate people to keep their cats safe.

Hannah: Thank you for answering all of my questions and helping spread awareness to animal welfare!

Diane: Of course, I'm happy to! I enjoy doing this.