A recent Leader-Herald article about a Gloversville man getting jail time for abusing a kitten missed the mark when giving credit to which agency took care of kitten following the abuse.
While the Gloversville Animal Control was the agency that first responded to the incident and found the kitten unable to walk or move, it was the Gloversville Regional Animal Shelter that ultimately bore the physical and financial responsibility for caring for the kitten.
Renee Earl, president of the animal shelter, pointed out in an email that the shelter is a volunteer organization that relies on donations to keep its doors open.
“While I am thrilled to see the paper reporting the follow up on animal cruelty related charges such as this, which most often is forgotten about, for a small animal shelter such as Regional, in a small community such as Gloversville, we need really need facts to be published correctly in order for our small shelter to survive,” Earl wrote. “We are 100 [percent] volunteer run and rely strictly on donations to provide care for the animals and keep our doors open. Statements such as those give the community a false impression and impact our shelter tremendously.”
We agree that credit needs to be given where credit is due and apologize for not getting that fact correct. We pride ourselves on being a trusted news source the community can count on and even what seems like a little mistake such as this can impact that trust.
The no-kill shelter is a precious commodity in our city and it is often burden with pets tied to criminal activity. The shelter, while rehabilitating these pets, is also burdened with the criminal justice system and the pets cannot just be put up for adoption — they must be cared for during the entire judicial process, which at times, can take months.
What may be a cute puppy or kitten — both easily adoptable — can turn into a full grown animal and not so easily adoptable by the time the animal is cleared for adoption.
In addition, pets abused by their owners often require a lot of veterinarian care — an additional expense borne by the shelter and its reserves.
As for the kitten, Earl said it was cared for, treated, fostered and eventually adopted by a loving family.
She said the shelter also cared for, fostered and then adopted out a dog the man owned, and according to Earl, abused, as well.
Local animal abuse cases are frequent, though not all owners are found and prosecuted.
Some of the shelter’s recent abuse cases include two dogs found stranded in the Cayadutta Creek — Jake and Caya; Cody, a small black and white puppy that came in with canine parvo virus and was near death; Duke, a 2 1/2 year-old pitty mix who was abandoned and partially blind; and Zeke, a beagle mix who was found on Third Avenue dirty, underweight and afraid. Zeke, who has a kind soul, was so badly damaged mentally he required specialized training from a dog handler out of Vermont before he could be placed in a forever home. All of these animals, among dozens of others, the shelter has taken on — their vet bills, their foster care and rehabilitation — so that they have an opportunity for a forever home.
So, when thinking of volunteering or giving to an organization, think close to home and help one of our very valuable animal shelters.
And going forward, we will do our best to make sure to give credit where credit is due and ensure our facts are correct.
