Rutland County Humane Society hires new Exec Director

By STEVEN JUPITER

PITTSFORD—Just weeks after announcing its purchase of a new facility in Brandon, the Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) announced the arrival of Jennifer Perrigo as its new Executive Director. Ms. Perrigo replaces Beth Saradarian, who worked at RCHS for 20 years and served as RCHS Executive Director from 2019 until last fall.

RCHS’S NEW EXEC Director, Jennifer Perrigo with Emma (who’s available for adoption).

Ms. Perrigo comes to RCHS after a long career in animal welfare in the Lake George region of upstate New York, having worked in the field in various capacities, most recently for 7 years as Center Manager at the North Shore Animal League Cat Adoption Center in Glens Falls, NY, her hometown. She has also worked as a veterinary assistant in Queensbury, NY and at the Animal Protective Foundation in Scotia, NY.

“When the position opened up at RCHS, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to make my mark in the field and help the organization grow,” said Perrigo at her office in Pittsford, where RCHS is still headquartered. “The new facility is very exciting. I helped grow the Adoption Center in Glens Falls and loved watching that happen.”

With the planned move to Brandon, there’s a lot on Perrigo’s plate at RCHS right from the start, though the operation of the Pittsford facility is still an immediate priority as RCHS will not occupy the Brandon site for some time.

“I’m hoping we’ll move within the next three years,” said Perrigo, echoing the prediction made by RCHS Board President Mei Mei Brown in an article on the new facility in last week’s issue of this paper.

“Older buildings like this pose problems for air filtration, sanitation, drainage, and isolation of sick animals,” she said, referring to the Pittsford facility, which was built around 1960. “Once disease gets in, it can be disastrous. Even though we won’t necessarily be handling more animals in Brandon, we’ll be able to shelter them better while they’re with us.”

Perrigo emphasizes that RCHS is a way station for homeless animals while they await their forever homes. Her goal is to make their experience in the shelter as stress-free as possible.

“We’re here to provide temporary shelter,” she said. “We do what we can, but this is not an ideal environment for animals. They need permanent homes.”

RCHS handles roughly 1,100 adoptions every year. They deal mostly with cats and dogs but also shelter small animals such as rabbits and ferrets, as well as birds. Some of their animals are strays, some are surrendered house pets, but RCHS attempts to find homes for them all.

“I don’t like to create barriers for adoptions,” Perrigo noted. “I don’t want people to have to pledge their firstborn in order to adopt a pet. I’ve found that the vast majority of people who make the effort to go to a shelter are looking to provide a good home.”

Perrigo does caution folks to “do their homework” before committing to a pet. Figure out the annual costs and determine what kind of pet would best fit your lifestyle.

“You shouldn’t adopt a Border Collie unless you can keep it occupied,” she said by way of example. “They’re working dogs and they need a job to do. A lot of dog breeds were bred for specific tasks, and you have to take that into account. The instincts are inherent.”

And for those who do want a particular breed, Perrigo recommends finding either a breed-specific rescue program or a reputable breeder.

“So many of the dogs at pet stores are ill,” she continued. Her home state of New York outlawed pet stores because the problem had gotten so bad, she said.

At RCHS, animals receive appropriate veterinary care, though it’s becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to engage the services of veterinarians, many of whom are booked out far in advance.

“Our policy is to spay or neuter animals before they’re adopted, but we’ve had animals here for weeks before we can get the procedures done,” she said. “So, we’ve started ‘foster to adopt,’ which allows people to take home the animals they’d like to adopt and finalize the process once we’re able to arrange for the procedures.”

The cost of these preventive surgeries is included in RCHS’s adoption fees.

Like most people who work in animal welfare, Perrigo has always had animals of her own. Her two dogs recently passed away, she said, but she still has her cats and a horse that she called her “therapy.” 

“This is the first time in 20 years that I’m dogless,” she said with obvious sadness. But the mission to find forever homes to homeless animals gives her joy, and her work at RCHS will give her many opportunities to help match animals with the people who want to love them.

“I’m always happy when a homeless animal finds a responsible home.”

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