Humane Society Calumet Area’s Pets for Life (PFL) team was awarded the Community Cup at Humane Society of the United States’ national Animal Care Expo on May 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Community Cup is awarded annually to a regional PFL team who have done exceptional work that year. HSCA’s PFL team is one of 20 currently operating in the U.S. HSUS’ PFL Mentorship and Training Manager Jason Schipkowski said HSCA’s team received the award for showing the “true grit” of the program and referred to team members Rocio Bolivar and Raven Stutsman as the “dream team.”
Rocio Bolivar started her career in animal welfare a few years ago as an intern with Mercy for Animals. She then toured the country with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals before joining Humane Society of the United States’ Pets for Life team based in Chicago. When the Chicago team disbanded, she joined HSCA’s PFL team in Fall 2016.
Bolivar’s personal passion for animal advocacy and social justice drew her to the Pets for Life program. “I love the program because it sees the best in people and helps animals by helping the people who love them most.”
Raven Shutsman has always had a heart for helping others and began her social service work as a volunteer advocate for battered women and children. She began volunteering at Central Oklahoma Humane Society’s Humane Place Animal Clinic, eventually joining their Pets for Life team when it formed two years ago. When the Oklahoma City PFL program dissolved, the move to NWI and HSCA’s team seemed a natural fit.
Shutsman said, “I’ve always had a passion for community. I’m so excited and grateful to be continuing the Pets for Life mission in a brand new city with beautiful people and their four-legged companions.”
The Pets for Life program was started by HSUS in 2011 with teams in Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. The program seeks to reduce local stray populations in under-served communities through targeted spay/neuter and vaccines services.
In March 2015, HSCA received grant funding to start a PFL program in Gary, Ind. With a population of nearly 80,000 people and no low-cost veterinary options, there are an estimated 50,000 animals in Gary with no access to spay/neuter or vaccine services.
HSCA’s PFL team currently provides free spay/neuter and vaccine services to residents in Gary’s 46407 zip code. The program operates one zip code at a time to ensure that every street and home in the city is reached.
Gary residents who do not reside in the 46407 zip code qualify to receive low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine services through HSCA’s Estelle Marcus Animal Clinic. The clinic offers spay/neuter surgeries four days a week and vaccine clinics three days a week by appointment. Pet owners on government assistance (such as food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment, or disability), residents of East Chicago, Ind., owners of pit bulls or pit bull mixes, and feral cat caretakers also qualify for the clinic’s services. Call 219-922-3811 for more information on Estelle Marcus Animal Clinic’s services.