Genesee County Animal Control was forced to respond to a dire crisis this week, when dozens of animals were found by police in a Flint Township home living in neglected conditions.
“It’s hard for the public to see situations like this come to light,” said Hannah Peterson, who works for Genesee County Animal Control. “It’s hard for our volunteers who are coming in and they’re seeing all these animals in all these cages filled now. And then of course it’s really hard for us as staff to just honestly know about the situation, but not only to know about it, but to be so involved in it and to be taking all of these animals in. It’s a lot of emotional stress as well as a lot of physical work on all of our parts. It definitely weighs on all of us.”
The most pressing need for Animal Control is obvious: space. After taking in 64 animals (61 dogs and three cats), the facility has reached its capacity. In order to help create some needed space, they are hosting an emergency adoption event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, at their location at 4351 W. Pasadena Road in Flint. The animals that were taken in during the raid are not yet available for adoption as staff is still working to get them any medical care they need and will be disbursed to other rescues who can work with them and get them ready to be in homes. But adopting dogs or cats who have already been in the shelter will help create more space for the new animals they’ve had to take in.
The charge for adoptions is $10, plus a $10 license fee for Genesee County residents. Peterson also recommends that people who haven’t adopted from a shelter before understand that usually, animals who have been in shelters need a little bit of time and patience to adjust to a new home. But once they do, they are grateful for the love and stability.
“Time and patience are the biggest things when bringing home a new shelter pet,” Peterson said. “Most of these animals have been through trauma of some sort. So whether that’s abuse, neglect, being a stray and trying to fend for themselves for long periods of time, they’ve pretty much all experienced some hardship. But these dogs are amazing. They’re so resilient and sweet, and they just want love, and they will be so grateful to you for the rest of their days for rescuing them. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s also a big honor being able to adopt.”
An Outpouring of Support
Even in the face of tragedy, the team at Genesee County Animal Control has been inspired by the community reaction. There has been an immense amount of donations, from food and supplies to monetary donations, in the days since the animals they took in received media coverage.
“It’s been amazing honestly,” Peterson said. “We have such a great community and so many people who are very much animal lovers, so people always step up to help us, whether that’s donating or helping share stories and getting word out. But this one specifically really hit home for us and for a lot of people, and the response was overwhelming. That’s really been helpful for us to be able to take care of these animals and get them the care that they need and the supplies and the food and the medical and all these things.”
Those donations actually have Animal Control in a stable position at the moment. People are still welcome to donate, but Peterson said that what they’ve received so far is covering their immediate needs – “We’re in a really good place right now,” she said.
However, there are other ways that donations help the shelter in their regular operations and are accepted throughout the year. They accept all brands of pet food, even if it is opened as long as the food is still good – sometimes, people buy a new brand of food for their dog or cat and they don’t like it, so those bags can still be taped back up and donated. They also have a community outreach pantry for Genesee County residents, so if they encounter a difficult financial circumstance or can’t afford food for their pet, the pantry has food available when donations come in for it.
They also accept donated towels and blankets, but cannot take bedding like sheets and comforters. For more information on donations, contact Animal Control on Facebook at facebook.com/adoptgcac, email the department, or call (810) 732-1660.
Animal lovers can also support Animal Control through volunteering. Volunteers must be at least 18 and complete some training. Once that’s done, there are a wide range of tasks that volunteers help with and support. More information about becoming a volunteer is online.
“Both our volunteer and our foster teams, we are always looking to grow,” Peterson said. “We need help year-round. We’re gonna be moving into kitten season now pretty soon with the spring. So our cat team is definitely gonna be in need. But there’s so many different areas you can get involved in: there’s the dog side, the cat side, we have a grooming team, we have a dish team. We have a lot of events that we go to where we need volunteers to go and represent us and pass out information and flyers and things like that. It’s definitely not just physical labor. If you are wanting to do something a little bit calmer and laid back, we definitely have other areas that people can get involved in.”
People can also support Animal Control and animals in the community by simply staying vigilant and reporting abuse, neglect or malnourishment, or extended periods of being tethered. The reporting process is anonymous and can be done through Animal Control’s phone system at (810) 732-1660 or by contacting a local law enforcement agency in the community you reside in.
questionable living conditions, abuse, neglect, or extended periods of tethering please contact law enforcement, or Animal Control at 810-732-1660 and follow the prompts.
“If you have knowledge of an animal being abused or neglected, definitely reach out to us,” Peterson said. “Just by speaking up because these animals can’t, you could genuinely be the reason that a dog or a cat gets out of a really bad situation and you could ultimately be the reason that the animal’s life was saved.”
A Lifelong Companion
Ultimately, adoptions are good for the animals by getting them into loving, stable homes. Peterson manages Animal Control’s social media presence, and often gets to see how happy animals are when they are adopted by loving humans.
But the flip side of that is the impact love from a dog or cat brings to someone else’s life.
“We’ve had people reach out like a few months after adopting, and they’ve said, you know, I rescued the animal, but even more so this animal rescued me,” she said.
That reciprocal feeling, if you are equipped to manage the responsibility, is an immensely gratifying part of adopting from a shelter at an event like the one Genesee County Animal Control is hosting Saturday.
“Having that companionship and having an animal that you get to come home to every single day, that’s always happy to see you and is dependent upon you for a good life, it’s of course a responsibility,” Peterson said. “But it’s a really special thing. And the bond that people form with their animals is, I think, unlike any other kind of bond. It’s really cool for us to see the animal get a happy ending, but to see people have that companionship and emotional support as well.”
See a gallery of some of the animals available for adoption below
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