Animal shelters care for more than just dogs and cats
I love when I open a work email from a coworker that reads something like, “Hi everyone, today we'll be welcoming a chinchilla, two rats and a corn snake from San Francisco Animal Care and Control.” Or the one that followed shortly after: “We'll also be getting a 90-pound tortoise from the Lake County animal shelter.” This is, of course, in addition to the many dogs, cats, guinea pigs and other small animals we receive regularly from shelters throughout the state.
We're fortunate to have the resources to be able to regularly transfer in animals from overcrowded shelters. Almost every week, dogs arrive from the Central Valley and Oakland. We also get many requests to take in the more unique animals mentioned earlier.
Marin Humane is equipped to handle several species and, more importantly, has staff with the know-how to care for them. Our manager of animal care, Samantha Winegarner (“Sam”), herself a guardian to many different kinds of animals, not only has a degree in biology but 27 years of both professional and personal hands-on experience caring for different species. From snakes and turtles to roosters and chinchillas, and even fish, she's seen — and cared for — pretty much every kind of pet.
When asked what one of her most challenging animal care situations was, Winegarner recalls the day Marin Humane was called to rescue nine parrots, including several large macaws, left behind after their guardian died. The birds had to be removed from the home immediately, so time was of the essence.
“I knew we had appropriate housing for the smaller birds, but we had nothing large enough for the big birds, so I decided to convert some of our dog enclosures into macaw condos,” she says. “With a bit of creativity, I was able to `MacGyver' my way through creating suitable habitats for our special guests, racing the clock as the nervous birds waited in their transport carriers.
These animals are quite sensitive and fragile so my team and I worked hard to create a good experience for them during their stay with enrichment, nutritious food and, of course, lots of love. It was so gratifying to see them flourish and go on to loving, experienced homes.”
Sometimes our animal guests require specialized veterinary care. In the case of the nine parrots, we called in an avian veterinarian. And if we're caring for a sick or injured barnyard animal like a goat or a pig, we'll bring in a large animal veterinarian to ensure we're providing
the best care. Of course, being able to bring in these specialized veterinarians does come with a price tag but thanks to our generous community, we can usually find care for all our animal guests.
Beyond providing appropriate care for your not-so-average pet, we also spend time with potential adopters to ensure they're educated on how to properly care for these special animals. Many people are drawn to unique animals, like chinchillas, reptiles or parrots, because of how they look or how unusual they are, but don't necessarily realize the time and attention they need, nor the particulars of correct housing, heating, lighting, diet and so on. It's important for adopters to be prepared for these uncommon critters and their varying needs.
While dogs and cats may be our most common guests, we're here to care for (almost) all creatures, great and small.
Lisa Bloch is the director of marketing and communications for Marin Humane, which contributes Tails of Marin articles and welcomes animal-related questions and stories about the people and animals in our community. Go to marinhumane.org, find us on social media @ marinhumane or email lbloch@marinhumane. org.