Rachael Ray Nutrish has sponsored this post, but all opinions are my own.
Just a month after Ochi’s adoption, I was headed back to a shelter–but this time to volunteer with Nutrish! Pittsburgh is almost Nutrish’s own hometown, located a little over an hour from the company headquarters, so our group of Nutrish influencers gathered here for a day of volunteering at a great local shelter. After all, shelters and Nutrish go hand in hand; a portion of Nutrish proceeds go to Rachael’s Rescue®, which was created to help animals in need. This money has gone toward food, medical supplies and treatments for these unfortunate animals.
The visit was a chance for me to step behind the curtain and look at a shelter from a different point of view.
As a cat adopter, I know which factors appealed to me when last month I visited Austin Pets Alive with the thought of adoption. I wanted to see:
- cats who were comfortable in their setting. Even though a shelter setting isn’t ideal, adopters want to see cats that are comfortable in this temporary home.
- cats who aren’t stressed. Stress isn’t good for anyone, cats included. When John and I went to adopt Ochi, we liked to see that the cats weren’t displaying signs of stress.
- a clean shelter. A clean shelter means a more pleasant environment in which to meet cats–and, more importantly, it means a setting where germs won’t thrive.
- a well-organized shelter. With hundreds of animals to keep track of, adopters want to feel confident that shelters have maintained good records on each pet, making sure that cats have had everything from health checks and immunizations on schedule to adequate cuddle and play time each day.
- a shelter that practices good community outreach. Adoption is just part of the picture when it comes to a pet-friendly community. Adopters like to feel that they’re supporting a shelter that aids the community with all its pet-related needs.
So for this trip, I had the chance to see a shelter from another perspective, that of volunteer instead of adopter.
Our day with Nutrish was spent at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, the city’s oldest shelter and animal welfare agency. This shelter’s history is really unique, first opening its doors over 140 years ago to serve homeless women, children–and draft horses.
Today the shelter is exclusively for domesticated animals, welcoming over 14,000 animals through its open intake doors annually. Just a few days ago, the Society merged with the Animal Rescue League, an exciting development that will bring even more services to help homeless pets.
The shelter, which is just incredibly clean and odor-free, is home to pets ranging from homeless dogs to rabbits…
…to even a little mouse looking for a forever home!
Much of the shelter’s homeless animal population consists of cats, with over 200 felines housed at the shelter on any given day.
We first headed by the recent intake area (where it is almost impossible not to reach out and pet these cuties but, to hold down disease, they remain separated and only handled by a few people until they are cleared by the vet):
This little black and white cutie is now ready for adoption and his name is Poppy!
Once the cats are cleared, they enter the main kitten and cat areas where they’re given lots of attention from the teams of volunteer Cat Cuddlers who make sure each cat gets plenty of one-on-one time for wand play and snuggling:
My attention was drawn to a kitten named Fancy who’s about the same age as Ochi:
I spent my time playing with Fancy; she’s a happy girl who is going to make a wonderful addition to someone’s family!
Of course, adoption is just part of the role that shelters play in a community, and it was great to see all the outreach that the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society provides to the residents of Pittsburgh.
The shelter has a whole range of programs and services to serve the pet-loving citizens of the area including:
- a wellness vet clinic
- low-cost vaccine clinics
- a Veteran’s Appreciation Program with free adoptions and reduced cost training classes, vaccines, microchips, spay/neuter, and wellness visits
- behavior assistance
- spay/neuter clinic
After our volunteering our group stayed at the Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton hotel which, like other Kimpton properties, is cat-friendly!
Nutrish, after all, is the pet food line of cookbook author and TV chef Rachael Ray…so you can bet that we enjoyed some tasty meals as well! Our group of influencers was joined by representatives from Nutrish who, just like us, care about their pets like family. Every meal included, of course, plenty of furry photo sharing!
My stay in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh was a brief one but as always, it’s so wonderful to connect with fellow pet lovers and see all the great work that so many are doing on a daily basis to help homeless pets. Nutrish and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society showed me that Pittsburgh is indeed Steel City–a city filled with people with a steely resolve to help homeless pets!
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