Ben Madilynn
Last month, I went to the dentist and had a new hygienist. She was lovely and chatted away as she got set up for my appointment. She asked me what I do for a living and when I told her I run an animal shelter, her eyes lit up.
She told me all about her dog, which she had gotten from another Maine shelter. and then asked me if I knew that shelter. I told her that absolutely I did, sheltering is a small field here in Maine. She then asked how we decided which shelter got which animals, and after being confused for a moment, I realized that most people, even those who are animal enthusiasts, do not know a great deal about animal welfare organizations.
Many people, like my hygienist, may not realize that there is no one organization that decides what animals go to what shelter in Maine and sends them out accordingly. It is important for adopters, supporters and concerned citizens to know at least the basics of animal welfare organizations in order to make intentional decisions about whom to work with and why.
There are different types of animal welfare organizations; some exist to shelter animals, like Midcoast Humane; some focus on advocacy in terms of legislation or raising awareness around specific issues like spay/neuter or declawing; some are law enforcement based; and others are focused on providing or subsidizing services like education, transport or veterinary care. This information is commonly available on organizations’ websites, under their “Mission” or “About Us” sections, as is their nonprofit designation, if they have one.
There are both national and local organizations. Some national groups include the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the ASPCA and Maddie’s Fund. If you are concerned with disaster relief, both HSUS and the ASPCA have emergency divisions that deploy to disaster areas to help affected pets. If you are interested in education, the ASPCA and Maddie’s Fund both provide free education to animal welfare professionals. If you want to have a positive impact on animals in your community you can visit or support your local shelter or rescue groups.
In Maine, we have an over-arching program at the state government level. The Animal Welfare Program (AWP) exists to monitor the state of animal welfare throughout Maine by addressing animal cruelty complaints, inspecting and licensing animal shelters, pet stores, kennels and animal research facilities, and enforcing dog licensing. The AWP does not have a physical housing facility and relies on Maine shelters, rescues and farms for animal housing when they need to confiscate animals.
Per Maine’s animal welfare statutes and rules, every municipality in Maine is required to either contract with an animal shelter to accept stray animals or otherwise arrange to have a shelter that houses stray animals, and they are also required to have an employee who functions as an animal control officer (ACO). These are the officers who respond to local stray pets, pet emergencies or complaints. As ACOs pick up stray pets, remove them from emergencies or seize them for possible court cases, they are brought to their municipality’s designated sheltering facility. Midcoast Humane is that facility for 39 municipalities surrounding our Brunswick and Edgecomb campuses.
Not every shelter holds contracts to house strays, but most of us who do also have written into our contracts that we will accept owner surrendered pets from our contracted municipalities. Each organization decides on their own whether to accept pets from outside their designated municipalities. This can confuse pet owners as they call around for resources, but generally, those looking to surrender their pets will be directed to the shelter for their area.
In addition to organizations with physical buildings, there are also rescue groups. These groups may get their pets from local owner surrenders or via transports from other areas, or both, depending on their focus. Most rescues here in Maine are based in foster homes, meaning that while their pets wait for adoption, they do so in a volunteer’s home. Many shelters also have foster programs, but also have physical buildings, like Midcoast Humane. Rescues may be species or breed specific, such as a chinchilla rescue or a pug rescue, or may be more general, accepting all kinds of pets.
Shelters and rescues may also offer programs above and beyond housing stray or surrendered pets. They may also have low-cost veterinary clinics or low-cost wellness services, pet food pantries, offer microchipping, hold humane education camps, work with local schools and after school programs, and more. Like any other field, animal welfare organizations are not all the same and one may resonate with your personal philosophies and interests more than another may, so I hope this article gives you a starting point. We all need support, and there is no better email or phone call to receive than a community member saying, “I’d like to support your work”! If you would like to learn more about the programs and services Midcoast Humane offers, please visit our website, MidcoastHumane.Org.
Jess Townsend is executive director of Midcoast Humane.
