Critter ChatFor October 28, 2026

We feel confident in saying that anyone who works at any public shelter (whether open admission or manage intake) and any animal control officer will agree with this statement: I thought I knew what the work would entail, until I actually began working.

Last week brought many heartbreaking and heartbroken stories through the door. May I share just one? The name or address will not be revealed.

We received a call from an elderly woman who asked for help with a cat she had been

feeding for quite some time. An animal control officer went to the address and several minutes later, left with the cat and a broken heart.

An older male cat was suffering. His suffering was so obvious that it would not be able

to be ignored or denied by anyone. He was emaciated and had wounds on his back. He was covered with fleas and, horrifyingly, was also covered with maggots. The woman told the story that she knew he had wounds, so the day before, she had poured salt in them. She spoke of the cat screaming during and after her doing that. Since the salt did not seem to help, she poured hydrogen peroxide on

the cat the day she called for help.

The officer convinced the woman to sign ownership of the cat to us and she sent me a

video of the cat. After watching it, I asked her to take the cat to a veterinary clinic rather than bringing him to us. A veterinary technician called and was told that they had our permission to do whatever they needed to do to get this poor cat some help and relief. We talked about how pitiful the situation was. That crux of the conversation was repeated when the officer came to the shelter.

We both were heartbroken about the cat. Early the next morning, I received a call from the clinic with the news that they had sedated the cat to diagnose and treat, but he did not wake up from the anesthesia. Was this an isolated incident? No. Is this the worst thing we have ever seen? Suffering cannot be put into a neat little “worst case” list. The question for me after hearing the news that the cat, in the end, died peacefully is the same one that I have had for over 34 years – How many more suffering animals are out there that we do not even know about?

Over 20 years, we invited anyone who would like to know what really goes on in the

shelter to spend at least a couple of days here, seeing what we see, hearing what we hear, and experiencing what we experience. We guarantee that most people would then echo the “I thought I knew what it would be like” thought that all shelter staff and animal control officers surely have. The reality is so much different than words on a computer screen.