PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Erin Hendry, Volunteer at Ollie's Place
5:23:01
·
141 sec
Erin Hendry, a volunteer at Ollie's Place in the East Village, shares her experiences and challenges faced by the all-volunteer, donation-based cat shelter. She emphasizes the importance of education, affordable veterinary care, and spay/neuter services in addressing animal welfare issues in NYC.
- Highlights the dedication of volunteers in caring for cats with medical needs and preparing them for adoption
- Discusses the need for community education on spay/neuter services and responsible pet ownership
- Mentions financial struggles of the shelter and the personal impact of volunteering and adopting a cat
Erin Hendry
5:23:01
Hi.
5:23:01
My name is Erin Hendry, and I volunteer at Ollie's Place, and he's village.
5:23:07
We're an all donation based all volunteer run shelter.
5:23:09
So if people don't show up to their ship, the cats don't get fed, the cats don't get their meds.
5:23:14
Something beautiful about East Village is that there's so much traffic from the public that comes in and sees them in the window and whether they've owned before or whether they're new to the cat world.
5:23:24
They light up and see how great the cats are doing there because we diligently take care of their health.
5:23:30
They have a lot of vet bills.
5:23:32
The med list that I get every morning when I go in on Sunday can be really long.
5:23:36
Inexpensive, but because of the compassion of all the volunteers and how hands on we are, it really shows how much they transform, and then it makes them ideal for people to adopt.
5:23:47
And I think some of the things that along with what everyone else is saying is education.
5:23:52
There are a lot of people that come in.
5:23:53
There was a girl last week at when we were switching shifts saying, you know, there's a deli where it's their 3rd litter.
5:24:00
There's, you know, 2 female male cats that they've had forever, but they're on their 3rd batch of kittens, and it's like where those kittens gonna go.
5:24:08
Again, it's about not only providing those services, but letting the community know that they're available and why they're important.
5:24:15
One time I went into a deli and a guy had a cat that wasn't neutered and I asked him, is this yours?
5:24:21
He said I can't take it home because it sprays.
5:24:23
My mom won't let me.
5:24:24
But, you know, if he had been neutered, it might have been a different story.
5:24:28
So there's a lot of that that happens.
5:24:30
And we almost lost funding to stay open and pay our rent in January, and luckily everyone banded together.
5:24:37
But like everyone here, we're kind of at our with end of what we can provide.
5:24:42
We're picking out of our own pockets.
5:24:44
We're doing all we can, but if we had a little more assistance, we could do so, so much more and maybe give each other a little breather and empower the community to feel more involved and to feel more bonded with animals and truly see what they give you.
5:24:58
I took home a cat from our shelter when we were about to close Coco and quickly I've been unemployed for a year and it's very new for me.
5:25:07
And on the days where I feel really worthless, I look at her and I see the progress she's made and I'm reminded that I I'm doing a good job, and I don't know what I do without her.
5:25:16
And I want that for everybody that needs that needs that companion.
5:25:20
So thank you for letting us talk today.
UNKNOWN
5:25:22
No.
