Saturday, December 7, 2024
A photograph of Peanut, a cuddly orange tabby, greets visitors entering the Cove Animal Rescue’s cat wing in the newly renovated shelter. Peanut was the Cove Animal Rescue mascot until he died late last year. The suite that bears his name houses chronically ill cats. The shelter’s manager, Kathy Norcia, said that these cats are the most difficult to be adopted, which is sad, because they would benefit the most from a “forever home.”
Cove Animal Rescue, a not-for-profit organization funded by, and located in the City of Glen Cove, has a mission to treat, heal, and socialize the animals so people will want to adopt them. In the last two years, under the direction of president Betty Geiger, the shelter has undergone numerous renovations to not only improve the facility itself, but also the quality of life for the animals it houses.
“We are really trying hard to make it nice for the animals, but also for people to come to,” said Geiger, who took over the operation in March of 2015. “It’s been a great project — every day there’s something new.”
The shelter receives approximately $92,000 per year from the city for operational costs. But most of the shelter’s recent renovations, which have been focused on creating a more social environment for the animals, were funded by individual donations.
The addition of a spacious outdoor dog run allows potential adopters to interact with the dogs. “It’s much nicer for people and for the dogs to meet and get to know each other in a quiet, open space,” Norcia explained.
Volunteers come in daily. “Some of the volunteers will bring lawn chairs to sit after a walk,” Geiger said. “It helps the dog to understand ‘oh, when my human sits, I sit.’”
Volunteer Victoria Palone, 16, a junior at North Shore High School, first started visiting the cats in the shelter while her brother played football in the adjacent city field. She’s always been an animal lover as are all of the volunteers, but her affinity has grown. Palone has even learned to trap the feral cats in her neighborhood, her mother Pam says, and helps to socialize them. Victoria also took photographs of all the animals in the shelter and the images hang throughout the hallways at CAR.
Perhaps the shelter’s current crowning jewel is the new cat wing. The cage-free cat colony includes windows, skylights and cat doors to a screened-in area with chairs and couches. There are four cat rooms, each with climbing structures and comfy perches. Kittens have their own room with plenty of places to climb and play.
The city of Glen Cove has been struggling to deal with an increasingly large feral population. City council members approved a monthly stipend for the shelter on Dec. 27 to help address the problem. The funding will be targeted for a program called, Trap, Neuter, and Release.
The shelter has a program that supplies strategies to find feral cat colonies. “Right now, we’re developing a map of the areas where we seem to have many reports of litters,” Norcia explained. “Once we have an area marked as a colony then we can send volunteers out to trap.”
The shelter is also creating a wing that will include a surgical and recovery room for animals that need to be neutered, which will make it possible for them to be treated and released on the same day. Most of the operations will be performed by area veterinarians that are volunteering their time.
Another area under renovation is the “boarding room,” where animals can stay while their masters are out of town. The shelter has obtained funding to put in new kennels, skylights, soundproof walls, and a new air conditioning and heating system. “Each boarder will have their own kennel suite,” said Norcia. “And owners can bring their own furnishings, such as a special blanket or toy for their pet to have while they’re away.”
The additional revenue from boarding will help to supplement the tax payer dollars that the shelter receives every year.
Longtime Glen Cove resident Sally Zwiebach was pleasantly surprised by the new changes to the facility. “It’s really amazing what they’ve done in the last two years,” Zwiebach said excitedly. “Joan was the pioneer of the shelter, but CAR has really taken it to the next level.”
Years ago, Zwiebach volunteered at the shelter under the direction of Joan Phillips, the co-founder and president of the Animal Lovers League who established and ran the shelter for the city until 2014. The city asked Phillips’ organization to vacate the premises via court order, citing “incomplete and inadequate” operations and policies. Phillips and the city are still involved in litigation.
Despite any previous controversy Geiger intends to create the best atmosphere for both animals and people. Once visitors see how well loved the animals are, says Geiger, they will want to come back. “People who want to volunteer are worried that they’ll feel too bad for the animals,” Geiger explained. “I say to them: ‘Come down and spend some time, you won’t leave here feeling guilty.’”
