Humane Society marks 50 years
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This cat was up for adoption at the Rutland County Humane Society on Wednesday. Cassandra Hotaling / Rutland Herald |
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By Gordon Dritschilo Staff Writer - Published: May 1, 2009
PITTSFORD — Joan Rost was a senior in high school when her father's barn became the Rutland County Humane Society's first shelter.
"It was nothing like it is now," said Rost, 67, whose father, Ed Wheeler, was the Humane Society's first humane officer. "We took an 'L' (corner) of the cow barn and he had metal cages."
That was 1959. This weekend, the Humane Society celebrates its 50th anniversary with an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the building on Stevens Road in Pittsford.
Beth Saradarian, the Humane Society's outreach director, said Ellen Porter and Olive Smith organized the group out of concern for the many stray animals they saw in the community. They recruited Wheeler, who took care of animals for several years at his farm on Route 7.
"My kids, after I had kids, just loved to go down there and help their grandfather with the animals," Rost said. "They wanted to bring every animal home."
The group bought land on the Stevens farm for the current facility, raising $45,000 and breaking ground in October 1966. The building was finished a year later. The group added a stable in 1975 and did extensive renovations in 1998.
"We had something like 18 dogs in crates and all the kennels were demolished," longtime volunteer Kristine Hitchcock said, recalling the renovations. "We had a huge team of volunteers that were going in several times a day, walking the dogs."
Hitchcock, who worked on the capital campaign for the renovations and served almost 10 years on the group's board, said she always found volunteering there rewarding.
"The suffering you see is just tremendous and something's got to be done about it for all the creatures who can't speak for themselves," she said.
Saradarian estimated the group has cared for more than 100,000 animals, and not just dogs and cats but rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, skinks, goats and horses.
The group has also launched a number of initiatives. Tamie Baker helped with a training program designed to make dogs more presentable for adoption. Kay Killoran helped launch a pet therapy program.
"You take an animal — cat, dog, rabbit, whatever you have — go to nursing homes and take them around to residents," Killoran said. "It gives them a nice boost. They can pet the animals, talk to the animals. … They loved it. They looked forward to the lady with the cats."
gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com
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