Humane Friend Leaving

Kathleen Flood And Friend

Humane Friend Leaving

By Zada Blayton

STAFF REPORTER

“I will be able to help more animals than I ever could have hoped to help in one society," said Kathleen Flood, of her new position in the national Humane Society organization.

Flood, director of the Humane Society of Huron Valley for about 2½ years and former president of the Michigan Federation of Humane Societies, is leaving here May 1 to become director of accreditation for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in Washington, D.C.

The local shelter is the most recent of six shelters throughout the country to be accredited by the HUSU under an accreditation program begun about two years ago.

THE SOCIETY was evaluated on its geographical location and its proximity to major cities, its euthanasia procedures, animal care, including equipment and procedures, how adoptions are handled, disease prevention and parasite control, in-service education and anti-cruelty education.

That investigation was conducted last year by Phyllis Wright, director of animal sheltering and control for the HSUS. But there have been only six societies accredited so far because Wright was the only investigator involved, said Flood. The investigator meets with a kennel’s manager, board of directors and staff: makes physical examinations, reviews accounting books and writes reports for evaluation by a committee which makes the final decision for accreditation.

Flood said she will be doing most of this investigation work, freeing Wright for education programs. Flood said she also will be selling the idea of accreditation to Humane societies in an effort to improve standards and curb abuses.

SHELTERS IN older buildings which do not have the money to make additions or remodel can be shown the best way to handle animals with the space and equipment they have, said Flood.

“Our cages (at the shelter at 3100 Cherry Hill Rd.,) are not ideal because they are cement,” said Flood. But they all have beds.”

Beds at night in the animals’ cages are just one of the improvements made at the shelter in the past 2½ years.

THE SHELTER’S low cost spay and neuter clinic was performing only six to eight surgeries a day when Flood arrived. Today, shelter veterinarian Betty Brockman is performing about 20 operations a day and there is no longer a waiting list, said Flood.

Animal carcasses are no longer incinerated but placed in a freezer and picked up by a company which disposes of the dead animals at a landfill. Flood said this ecological change is to prevent further air pollution with burnt protein.

There is now a part-time volunteer groomer, Jane Cooch, who has taught herself the skill on the job, and a make-shift grooming room, Flood says.

"I THINK THE education program is blossoming,” said Flood. The society maintains an education program teaching kindness and care of animals and the importance of spaying and neutering. Staff members make visits to schools in the county, offer tours of the shelter and provide speakers for adult groups.

And now the shelter has an education center in its basement. The basement recently was remodeled by Eastern Michigan University students under the direction of industrial education instructor John A. Weeks for $2,500. Flood said staff now is working on stocking the library in the center. Movies and other humane education materials are shown to groups visiting the shelter.

The education program has been able to expand to include information on endangered species and what impact this has on our lives, said Flood.

“There have been some really exciting changes made here,” said Flood.

OTHER PHYSICAL improvements include additional parking and an outside exercise area for small dogs. Previously, only large animal cages had a run area. And the cages are now disinfected every day to prevent the spread of kennel diseases.

The 24-hour animal rescue service now saves about two animals a day, said Flood. Most of these emergency pick-ups are done by staff after regular shelter hours. During 1977, the shelter rescued 798 animals from a variety of situations as compared with the 300 to 350 of a couple of years ago.

Staff meetings are now held regularly each month so that staff can be kept current on rescue procedures by the veterinarian. Flood said worker learn to differientiate between different diseases of the skin and upper respiratory system. Workers also learn how to tell if an animal is in shock and what to do if it is in shock, how serious the injury is and how to stop bleeding.

THE SHELTER has increased its efforts to find good homes for animals by instituting a tougher adoption policy. “We want to find good homes and we will refuse people,” said Flood. There is also now a $15 deposit on adopted animals which are to young to be spayed or neutered. The deposit is refunded if the operation is performed either at the clinic or somewhere else when the pet is old enough.

This policy, in the long run, will cut down animal population, said Flood.

"We have done a lot to raise the consciousness of people,” said Flood.

And a space for animals that need special care is badly needed, she said. These would be pregnant or nursing and newborn animals that can not stay with the other animals as they are susceptible to disease. There is also a need for an area for large animals such as deer and horses, she said.

The shelter, with a budget of about $240,000, is about to embark on a major fund raising drive. "There is always something needed in the way of capital expenditures,” said Flood, and there’s about a 15 percent increase in the budget yearly due to the cost of living.