Friends of MCHS: Ruth Hanessian

[insert Photo (at her store) of RH with one or more store animals]

MCHS: An indispensable resource

Ruth Hanessian is president of Animal Exchange, a Rockville store that specializes in birds and small animals.  She considers MCHS an indispensable animal resource for the county.  In fact, when customers ask her for advice on where to go to adopt dogs or cats, she always refers them to the shelter.  "MCHS provides an essential service to the community by providing a place where people can go to adopt animals," she said.

From her perspective, care and concern for animals are similar and give rise to care and concern for children in distress.  Both are part of the same deep concern and passion for living things.  "It is so important to care for any animal that needs help, whether two-legged or four-legged," she explained.  The child welfare movement may have gotten its start, she thinks, because of the hard work of the animal welfare community.  "Both animals and children need compassion and caring to thrive and survive."

Close encounter with the shelter

In 1974 Ruth adopted an Irish setter from the shelter, who lived with her for 10 years.  The shelter already was conducting home visit inspections and interviews to determine whether potential animal owners would make acceptable animal adopters.  Obviously, Ruth passed the test!

Training for animal handlers

As a great believer in education, Ruth conducts a training class for animal handlers entitled Animal Exchange Pet Shop Management.  As part of the curriculum, trainees watch the documentary, The Animals Are Crying (1971), directed by Peter A. Beltz.  It's included, she explained, because it is so realistic.  "It shows actual situations with animals that could happen in real life."  After viewing the movie, trainees are encouraged to discuss the situations depicted -- "throwaway" animals, give-ups, adoption, the decision to spay or neuter -- with each other.

Ruth also takes the trainees to the shelter to hear firsthand the conversations of owners who are "giving up" their pets.  After they complete the course, all trainees take a written test to determine their animal knowledge proficiency.  All are given a certificate upon completion of the course.  Ruth hires some of the trainees to work in her store, and many go on to work at the shelter or other pet supply stores in the area.

Most exciting change at the shelter

Over the years Ruth has observed a noticeable decrease in the number of animals brought to the shelter.  She attributed this drop to a couple of factors:  increased urbanization of the community, which decreased the habitat area for wild animals, and more responsible decision-making about animals.  She credited the shelter's education program for this change.  "It is really having a positive impact in our community," she said.

Recommended changes

• Increase amount of fines for runaways -- Ruth believes that if increased fines were imposed for each succeeding offense, and if the boarding fees for these runaways at the shelter were also increased, the number of repeat offenders would be decreased.

• Decrease number of bird flyaways -- Given that Ruth has a bachelor's degree in ornithology from Cornell University, it's understandable that she has strong opinions about how the shelter should handle birds when they are brought in.  She advised, "I always trim their feathers to prevent them from ever flying away again.  That's what I do in my shop and it works."  That would decrease the number of birds the shelter cares for that need to get adopted.

Backbone for humane treatment

Ruth paid her highest compliments to MCHS and its staff.  "Thank goodness MCHS is there.  Otherwise, our community would look like some parts of Brazil, where feral dogs are free to roam all over the place and runaway kittens are gassed (using gas from tailpipes of the police cars).  MCHS guards against these inhumane situations from happening."

And thanks to the county's Animal Services Division, she added, "There are so many concerned and caring officers who do an outstanding job every day.  Often, they find themselves in dangerous situations and yet they are able to respond to each call in a professional and respectful manner.  I have the highest admiration for them."

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Friends of MCHS: Margie Callahan

[insert Photo of MC with one or more animals to accompany article]

Margie Callahan served as a shelter pre-adoption interviewer-investigator for a year in the early 1990s, and also as a member of the Animal Matters Hearing Board from 1994 to 1996.  Only one family was denied adoption during that time, she recalled, because they had just moved into their new home and were still in the process of getting settled.   The house didn’t even have furniture!  Margie was reluctant to bring a needy animal into this chaotic environment so she deferred adoption and suggested that the family contact her at a later date.

Margie remembered working with Carol Johnson, who used to be the shelter’s kennel director and later became director of its computer network operations.  “Carol did a fantastic job managing the kennel to keep it running smoothly. She is a very talented, admirable person,” Margie said.

Former volunteer and board member Fumi Winter was another stand-out in Margie's recollection.  One time there were two dogs attacking each other.  "Without any hesitation or concern for her own safety," Margie said, "Fumi went over to the fighting dogs and sat on one of them to stop their fighting.  She sat there until they were secured in a safe area."

New physical plant needed for the shelter

Like many others, Margie feels the shelter building is too small and in too poor physical shape to deal effectively with the number of animals that pass through its doors. “Given the increasing number of animals that need special attention, the building needs to be bigger to comfortably accommodate all of them.”

There are negative ramifications from the lack of space.  “One time (a number of) Chow dogs were brought to the shelter because they had been abused by their owners.  Several Chows needed separate quarters because the barking of the other dogs upset them.  This put a severe strain on the shelter’s resources because it was too small to accommodate their needs."

Adopting Cosmo, the shelter cat

Cosmo was a big, fat cat who arrived at the shelter in 1996.  In fact, he was sent back to the shelter quite a few times for running away.  His future was precarious, to say the least, since he would have been euthanized if no one had adopted him.  Margie heard about him and went to the shelter to meet him.   “I immediately fell in love with him and adopted him.   I saved the cat’s life!”

How he got his name is a good story.  “He was a very good jumper," Margie said.  "He loved jumping from counter to counter and onto the top of cupboards.  His behavior reminded me of the character Cosmo Kramer on the 90s hit TV show, Seinfeld.  Hence I named him Cosmo.”

Currently Margie owns six cats and two dogs.  She spends about $50 a month on pet food, quite an expense in today’s economic climate.

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