The Santa Maria Valley Humane Society (SMVHS) is starved for volunteers as the organization approaches two major milestones: the expansion of its dog program and the launch of a trap, neuter, and return (TNR) program for feral cats.
SMVHS will open a new dog kennel along with two dog yards by the end of January, bringing its kennel count to three and its yards to four. Volunteer coordinator Georgina Phelan said the organization currently has about 90 weekly dog volunteers, but it needs more to get the new facilities up and running.
“If we don’t have volunteers, we won’t be able to open that kennel and have it completely full,” she said.
SMVHS tries to get its dogs out in the yards four times a day, and it’s up to volunteers to make that happen.
“One of the big things volunteers do here is they’re the ones who are socializing the animals,” Phelan said. “They’re taking them out to the yards, they’re playing with them, they’re exercising them.”
They also help match dogs with potential adopters by giving “show and tell” presentations, she said.
SMVHS holds monthly training orientations for interested volunteers, but Phelan said the organization will increase the frequency of orientations if it receives enough demand.
For those who prefer feline to canine, SMVHS recently absorbed Catalyst for Cats’ TNR program, which aims to control the feral cat population in local areas. Assistant to the kennel manager Neiva Ramos said the TNR program will ideally have 10 volunteers to help feed and trap the cats, but currently it only has one.
Volunteers will be responsible for feeding the feral cats for a while, getting them used to humans. The feeding will eventually take place inside false traps, which will accustom the cats to eating inside a cage.
The last Sunday of each month will be “trapping night,” on which the volunteers will replace the false traps with real ones, whose doors latch closed once a cat walks in. Volunteers will house the trapped cats for the night and bring them to SMVHS’ spay/neuter center the next morning.
The organization will fix the cats, tick their ears to indicate that they have been spayed or neutered, and then release them to the areas in which they were found.
“Once we do that, usually they disperse and go elsewhere,” Ramos said. “But more importantly it just helps the overall feral cat population in Santa Maria.”
TNR volunteers are not required to undergo standard orientation, though they do need some training. SMVHS will provide this training along with cat food and trapping equipment. Ramos said the ideal volunteers would have flexible schedules with evening availability.
Anyone interested in volunteering with SMVHS’ dog or TNR programs can call 349-3435 for more information.
Staff Writer Brenna Swanston can be reached at bswanston@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 14-21, 2016.