In Bonners Ferry, Idaho, times are tough — especially for the animals. But two staffers from Second Chance rescue organization are doing what they can. And that includes attending this year’s No More Homeless Pets Conference in Las Vegas.
“It’s a challenge,” says Nicole Rowell, the group’s operations manager.
Executive director Rhonda Hamerslough agrees. Because a lumber mill closed and another one’s scheduled to, “it’s a poverty-stricken area, she says.”
It’s so bad that “people can’t afford to feed their pets. They can’t afford spays and neuters,” Rowell says.
The town has never had a true shelter, except for eight kennels in a dilapidated building. Second Chance, which has animals in foster homes, has been operating for 12 years. And they’ve gotten a grant for a spay/neuter program as well as a grant for a feral and free-roaming cat program, and, says Rowell, “We’re trapping as fast as we can.”
In fact, a community cat they recently trapped, spayed and placed in their warehouse has become the group’s mascot. The cat made her way through a hole in the rafters to the adjoining thrift store, which the group owns. “She pops out a tile ceiling and watches us below,” Rowell says. “She’ll meow when she wants us to acknowledge her, but she won’t let us near her. She goes back out for food, water and the kitty box.”
Workers at the store named her “Franny the Feral.”
But the biggest thing that’s happening with the group is the recent purchase of land under the thrift store, which they’re replacing with an animal shelter. “What we’re faced with now is the funding and resources for a shelter,” Hamerslough says.
Their facility will mark the first official shelter in the area. To learn more about fundraising and tips on running a shelter, Hamerslough and Rowell signed up for the No More Homeless Pets Conference.
“We do have people who care about our little corner of the world,” Hamerslough says. “They want to make a difference, so they support us. We’re doing it one animal at a time.”
Photo by Sarah Ause