Over 100 Local Animals in Needs
Over 100 Local Animals in Need
Cattaraugus County SPCA Looking for Animal Lovers to Foster or Adopt; Can You Help?
Photo / SPCA of Cattaraugus County
What does love look like? Walking through the door and being pounced upon by a flying furball or a wagging tail. Sitting to take your shoes off and finding a face with doleful eyes planted on your lap. A paw on your knee or a soft kitty on your shoulder. Slurpy wake-up kisses or a cat on your face.
Face it, when we adopt a pet, we do change their lives, but we have no choice but to change our lives as well. The agencies that gather up these unwanted animals do yeoman’s work trying to find them purrfect forever homes. They get their medical needs taken care of, inoculations up to date and give them the love and care they need until they can be re-homed. But, being public agencies, they must comply with all state and county regulations.
It seems that agencies like the SPCA are not exempt from the long arm of the State of New York’s governing body. The Cattaraugus County SPCA is under the gun to come into compliance with the new rules imposed upon them by the State of New York. As with most new rulings, they are often precipitated by need and even abuses by some agencies which operated outside of regulations. As a result, the Cattaraugus County SPCA, along with every other animal care agency in the state is required to make the necessary changes to come into compliance. That being the case, the agency has almost 150 animals that need re-homing, even in temporary foster quarters if permanent forever homes are not found for them by the end of this year.
New York State passed the Companion Animal Care Act, which goes into effect December 2025. This comprehensive legislation requires all shelters to adhere to strict guidelines on kennel and cage sizes, floor coverings, ventilation, noise/decibel levels, outdoor spaces and a host of other design, safety, and animal welfare considerations. These requirements will necessitate major remodeling or the rebuilding of shelters across New York State - and the Shelter for the SPCA in Cattaraugus County on Route 16 in Olean is no exception.
Karen Crowley, the President of the Board of the SPCA in Cattaraugus County stated, “The State legislation is great for animals but is a major challenge for shelters. The SPCA in Cattaraugus County must have vacancy to serve animals in need and to provide services to the county - while preparing for the new requirements.”
Part of the program is to call for more volunteers. Dr. Shaun Smith, who is assisting in this major animal adoption/re-homing campaign says, “Volunteers are critical in two ways: (1) They provide extra love to the animals through interaction, and (2) They use their personal connections throughout the county and beyond to find forever homes for the dogs and cats. Volunteers will be the key to re-homing many of the dogs and cats when construction at the shelter commences.”
The SPCA will be sponsoring several programs in various communities in the next few weeks, bringing some of their furry ambassadors to acquaint people with the SPCA and, hopefully, to be adopted. There will be the Black Friday Sale at the Shelter on Friday, November 24 from 1:00pm - 4:00pm. The ”Home for the Holidays” float in the Greater Olean Chamber of Commerce’s Santa Claus Lane parade on Friday, November 24 starting at 6:30pm and the Pet Supplies Plus Adoption and Volunteer Recruitment event on Sunday, November 26 from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
You know, the decision to adopt a shelter dog is multifaceted. Number one, you are saving a life and more than likely making yours a whole lot pleasanter. Getting a kennel pet, you know everything you need to know about them, unlike a pet where you watch it develop into the kind of pet you hope you wanted. Adopting from the SPCA gives you ongoing support with various programs and contacts. And most importantly, pets become family. The World Animal Foundation says that about 95.5% of American dog owners consider them family. Over 65 million homeowners have a dog as a pet, and over 45 million make cats their very own fur babies. Many of those have more than one, and the Cattaraugus County SPCA is more than willing to do their part in helping you become one of those families.
Of these 150 animals needing homes, the majority are cats. A handful have been adopted in the past two weeks at the start of this campaign but many more are waiting to become your very own fur baby. Go to https://spcacattco.org to find the dates and locations of their upcoming events and check out all the animals up for adoption. I guarantee, you will fall in love with every one of them and have a difficult time picking “just one.” But then, you can pick all you want!
The SPCA is located at 2944 Route 16, Olean, NY. For more information about this homing campaign, contact Dr. Shaun Smith at 716-598-7883. He is an absolute pleasure to speak with and will help you in any way he can.d will help you in any way he can.