BUFFALO, N.Y. — The City of Buffalo Animal Shelter is getting crowded. More dogs are being brought to the shelter; however not as many are being adopted.
This has led the volunteers and social media team to get creative on how to promote the dogs who are staying for a long time. The hashtag: 100dayclub was born.
“We were thinking of dogs like Lucky, Gemma, and Melody who you will see later that they have been with us for a while, and we were trying to think of ways to get the public aware again that they have been with us for a while and they are great dogs,” Kelly Gurman said.
Gurman was the volunteer who originally pitched the idea. 2 On Your Side was able to meet with Lucky and Melody who are members of the 100 Day Club.
An active family would be great for Lucky.
“He’s about 2 years old, he’s a super sweet guy, super snuggly, loves to give kisses. We would call him I think more high energy,” Gurman said.
Melody has come to be known for her iconic look.
“We joke that she looks like the real-life dog emoji story because she’s got the eye patch like the emoji,” Gurman said.
While the staff has enjoyed being around these animals, an extended stay at a shelter causes the animals a lot of stress.
“And of course, the longer that they are here, and this is a nationwide problem, the longer a dog is in the shelter, the worse their behavior becomes. The more bored they get, the more frantic they look, the more desperate they get to get out. So when they are out the harder we have to work to just maintain their behaviors,” said Julie Morrella, sponsorship coordinator for the Friends of the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter.
This shouldn’t be a cause of concern for families looking to make one of these animals a part of their family.
“Any rescue dog, we recommend a decompression period. So the general rule is three days, three weeks, three months,” Gurman said. So that’s three days to decompress, three weeks to learn your routine, and three months to start to feel at home.
And the shelter offers support for people adopting adult dogs. There is a sponsorship program for dogs over one year of age where the owners can get $75 to help pay for training or even at-home visits from staff.
While the shelter has all these resources to offer, the stress of all the animals in the shelter also falls on them. As a volunteer-run organization, it can be difficult to manage everything.
“We are absolutely desperate for people to come in even for an hour once a week and walk a dog. But we really, really are trying to build our foster program. So, if you are interested in fostering, we are the place to go,” Morrella said.
Like any foster program, the shelter pays for food, supplies, and vet care.
For people who are interested in volunteering, the shelter is about to start its orientations again in September. Registration can be done online on the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter website or by emailing cbasvolunteerinfo@gmail.com.
People interested in adopting an animal can come by the shelter on Wednesday nights from 4 to 7 or Saturdays 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. without an appointment. Other times during the week people are asked to call and make an appointment so staff can be on hand to help people see the animals.
Adoptable dogs from the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter can be seen on its PetFinder page.
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