Kent Shelter Takes Top Honors

Kent takes top honors

BY VERA CHINESE |STAFF WRITER

A New York City police officer was on patrol last month when she noticed a pit bull puppy tied to a pole in the rain, without food or fresh water. The officer removed the emaciated and frightened dog and took him to Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton, which welcomed him with open arms.

Today, the 34-pound brindle-colored pup can be seen quietly napping on an overstuffed blue pillow at the nonprofit shelter, with plenty of kibble and water nearby.

The pit bull, now named Marlon, is one of hundreds of dogs and cats that will be brought to the River Road facility this year, where they'll live until they're adopted. Without no-kill facilities like Kent, Marlon could have ended up at a pound, where he surely would have been euthanized.

Or, worse, he might never have been rescued at all.

Kent's policy of accepting animals from around the corner and across the nation is one reason the local shelter has been named America's Shelter of the Year for 2009 by the North Shore Animal League.

The Port Washington-based rescue and adoption network, the largest in the world, said it chose Kent out of a pool of nationwide applicants because of its community outreach and low-cost spay and neuter program. The shelter was honored last Saturday in New York City at the 55th annual Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs of the Year Awards presented by Dogs In Review.

"We're proud. Ecstatic, really," said Kent director Pam Green.

The shelter, which Ms. Green estimated holds about 100 cats and dogs at any given time, adopts out about 700 pets a year.

"For our size, we do a lot of adoptions," she said.

Staff members at Kent have also created a cat retirement home that which houses mostly cats who have outlived their owners and costs a one-time fee of $7,500. They also provide a low-cost spay and neuter program which is open to the public

"Our spay/neuter program is a big part of our mission," Ms. Green said.

Al LaFrance, president of the Greenport-based humane group SAVES (Spay, Alter, Vaccinate Every Stray), said volunteers with his organization took about 400 feral cats to Kent to be spayed and neutered last year alone. SAVES uses Kent frequently because its rates are much lower than those of private veterinarians in the area.

"They provide an excellent service and it's a very reasonable cost," Mr. LaFrance said, adding that a place like Kent is much needed because the nearby municipal shelters in Riverhead and Brookhaven do euthanize cats and dogs.

"In a town like Riverhead that has a kill shelter, it's very important for [a no-kill facility] to be available," he said.

Kent also accepts animals from kill shelters across the U.S. and the Caribbean. Soon, it will have a shipment of perfectly adoptable puppies that would otherwise have died.

Ms. Green said she often gets calls from faraway shelters. Kent often receives dogs, for example, from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where, she said, "they have an 85 percent euthanasia rate."

Kent volunteers also take pets to local rehabilitation and senior care centers, an outreach program Ms. Green said has been very popular.

"[Volunteers] take pets with them so people can interact with them," she said. "It gives them a little diversion.

The shelter staff also invited local groups such as the Girl Scouts to spend time with the dogs and cats.

"Interacting with animals is a source of joy for people," Ms. Green said.

Though their work has been nationally recognized, Ms. Green said the 41-year-old shelter, which is funded mainly by donations and grants, is in need of a major upgrade. She and her staff of 16 hope to build a new facility on the property sometime in the future.

Above all, Ms. Green said, the most rewarding aspect of working for the shelter is advocating for better lives for homeless animals.

"The animals can't speak for themselves," she said.

For more information on Kent or to make a donation, visit Welcome to Kent Animal Shelter or call (631) 727-5731.

The Riverhead News-Review

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