As reported in last months issue of Bay Woof, A burglar hit Rohnert Park Animal Services in the middle of the night on June 12. Rohnert Park Animal Services (RPAS) operates a small municipal shelter under the direction of the Dept. of Public Safety. Rohnert Park is in the center of beautiful Sonoma County and the shelter services the cities of Rohnert Park and Cotati (total population about 50,000). RPAS takes in approximately 1,100 strays and owner surrenders from within that jurisdiction; offers a robust adoption program, provides residents free cat and low-cost dog spays/neuters, and has a range of educational programs. It runs with a small staff of 11 employees (9 part-time), and 200 active volunteers.
Sometime in the wee hours of Friday morning, June 12, the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter was burglarized. Fortunately the thieves were not out to harm or steal the animals and everyone was accounted for and Okay. The thief (or thieves) were not malicious and did not just randomly destroy things but they did steal a lot of electronics and other items, most of which were purchased through the fundraising efforts of our non-profit support organization, the Animal Shelter League of RP (ASL). Missing items included a large flat-screen TV which is used to show videos to our summer campers and brightens up our lobby, a projector, a portable phone, a laptop and portable printer used for our adoption outreach events, a shelter computer and monitor – and it was all carted away in one of our City trucks!
There were many lessons learned from this incident, which in hindsight seem so basic. But we live in a small, safe community and had become lax in our security. For example, the police think the entry point was a window that had been left open; and stealing the truck was easy since we kept all the keys out on a neatly labeled rack for easy accessibility by staff. Not any more! Keys are locked away and we instituted a second go-around each evening to make sure all doors and windows are securely locked.
The frustration and sadness of seeing the shelter ransacked was doubly heartbreaking as the ASL was on the verge of announcing a fundraiser for an exciting renovation project here at the animal shelter to get our kittens out of small cages and into group rooms. The City has approved a proposal and is willing to help with the tear down of the existing cages and ASL is fundraising for the material to create the new colony rooms. Now with the break-in the fear was that their limited funds would have to be used to replace those expensive items and would jeopardize the renovation plans.
Fortunately the truck was quickly recovered with most of the stolen items still in it. Makes it all the more mysterious about the reason for the break in since it ultimately only gained them a useless portable phone, a mifi (portable hotspot), and printer. The TV was damaged and the truck camper shell had been removed but the total damage was much less than it could have been.
So, the good news is that we’re moving forward with the renovation project and are very excited about the possibility of having our kittens in more natural colony rooms by the end of this summer. The kittens are so frustrated and have so much pent-up energy when they are in cages that they often don’t show well when taken out to meet potential adopters. People love watching kittens play and with the new colony rooms they will be able to watch them interact with each other and display normal behaviors. The hope, of course, is that this will increase adoptions and shorten their time in the shelter.
The ASL is reaching out to the community to step up and donate what they can so they can see this dream come true. Burglary and theft always feels like a violation and it’s all the more maddening when it affects the helpless animals. $20,000 is needed to cover the renovation and replace the missing items. Donations can be made online at www.animalshelterleaguerp.org or mailed to the shelter at 301 J. Rogers Lane, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.
In addition to the renovation the Animal Shelter League funds several ongoing community programs to improve the lives of our littlest residents. As part of the “No More Lost Pets” campaign, the ASL offers free microchips and ID tags to all pets in Rohnert Park and Cotati, which is helping to increase our return to owner rate; the Silver Paws program provides veterinary care for low-income seniors so they can keep their furry companions healthy; and they sponsor the Kidz ‘n Critter Summer Camp programs at the shelter. The ASL also pay for extraordinary veterinary expenses for injured and sick animals that come to the shelter – things that aren’t covered by the City’s budget. The shelter would not be as successful as it is in rescuing and saving animals if it weren’t for the support of this wonderful non-profit. Won’t you support them?
Mickey Zeldes has been the Shelter Supervisor at the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter for over 15 years and has endured two shelter break-ins (the first was much more destructive although in both cases the animals were unharmed) and this will be her second renovation. The RPAS is a small municipal shelter handling about 1,100 animals each year, under the direction of the Dept. of Public Safety. Feel free to contact her at mzeldes@rpcity.org, 707-584-3057.
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