Idaho Falls Animal Shelter staff, volunteers honored by American Red Cross
Published at
IDAHO FALLS — Employees and volunteers who work at the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter were honored by the American Red Cross as “East Idaho Real Heroes” during a luncheon last week.
The shelter has two goals: provide a safe place for homeless and protect residents from dangerous dogs and cats.
“We do this because we love animals,” says Irene Brown, Idaho Falls Animal Services manager. “We want to make sure the animals are safe but we need to make sure the human population is safe too.”
Brown has worked at the shelter 12 years. She’s seen thousands of animals come and go. The dogs and cats are mostly brought in by animal control officers who pick them up on the streets. They’re also dropped off by folks who find strays.
“We test them for adaptability to put them into our adoption program and if they’re good candidates, we attempt to adopt them out,” Brown tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The animal shelter functions in large part thanks to volunteers.
One group of ladies work around 30 hours each without pay helping their furry friends. They call themselves “OWLS.”
“There are some of us who are older and so we call ourselves ‘Older Women Without Lives,'” one volunteer says. “When you retire, you don’t have anything to do and now I can’t even imagine just not doing it. We find so many dogs and cats homes.”
In 2017, nearly 1,800 dogs and over 2,500 cats were impounded at the shelter. The facility has also received rabbits, snakes, even an occasional chicken.
“People need to be responsible pet owners,” Brown says. “Spay and neuter your pets. Keep your pet in, license your pet and put ID on your pet. All of those things would make our job so much easier.”
The shelter does euthanize some animals but Brown says with dogs, that only happens if the canine is hopelessly injured or public safety is at risk.
Animal shelter staff and volunteers say it’s nice to be honored by the American Red Cross but they don’t do it for the recognition. They just want to help their four-legged friends and keep the public safe.
“We don’t do this because we want to be heroes,” Brown says. “We do this because we love animals and we want what’s best for them.”
PREVIOUS REAL HERO STORIES
Rescuers honored after man suffers severe heart attack in Grand Teton National Park
Officer buys barefoot homeless man pair of shoes: ‘I didn’t want to walk away and not do anything’
UPS driver honored for heroic actions at deadly crash
Middle school teacher honored for giving blood
Man, thrown from camper during explosion, saves wife from intense fire
Body camera footage shows tense moments before officer saved man from suicide
Teens honored for helping police nab alleged drunk driver
Man credits divine intervention for leading him to person stuck in icy Snake River