The Sippican Woman’s Club began its fall season on September 12 at its comfortable home venue, Handy’s Tavern on Front Street. Following a brief business meeting, members and guests settled in to hear from guest speaker Pamela Robinson.
Robinson and her husband Oren have been operating a busy and popular cat shelter, It’s All About the Animals, Inc., in Rochester since 2009.
Founded to give abused and abandoned felines the love, care and shelter they deserve “until they find their ‘furrever’ homes,” as Robinson puts it, the shelter offers far more than a warm, dry place to stay and plenty of food.
Its “Kitty Village” consists of a large main building and four smaller “cottages.” Every unit has heat, air-conditioning and plenty of natural light, as well as cheerful wall paintings and colorful shelves. Furniture and toys provide a cage-free, fun-filled environment with stimulation for the felines.
As the years have gone by, the Robinsons have taken on more complex cases.
The core business – rescuing needy animals and making it possible for families far and wide to acquire an animal companion – still thrives. Cats to be adopted are spayed or neutered, up to date on immunizations for feline diseases, dewormed and provided with a microchip.
In recent years, they found themselves confronting more and more animals in need of medical care – from delivering kittens to major restorative surgeries and a range of complex issues. In response, three years ago, they partnered with a shelter in Dartmouth to provide hospital services. While it’s increased their costs, they now can turn to their own veterinarians to take care of the range of medical issues.
They’ve also had more than their share of horror stories. Robinson recounted dealing with one impact of the opioid crisis, where addicts go online and acquire dozens of free kittens, let them breed in high numbers and turn around and put the animals online for cash. Many fall through the cracks and end up as fragile young kittens coming to the shelter.
With all that Robinson has seen over the years, she’s more committed than ever to her work. She loves what she does and will do it for as long as she can.
During the Q&A following her prepared remarks, Robinson spoke of the lack of public funds to support private-shelter programs like hers. While she may be the first call a municipality makes in response to an abandoned animal, the shelter receives no funding from town, state or federal agencies. Private philanthropic funds tend to go to large national organizations. Thankfully, she said, there are many individuals who do support the shelter. They also welcome volunteers, which involves some training.
As the evening wound up, conversation turned to other animals – the non-domesticated kind. There was a humorous discussion of what to do when a badger has made a home on your property.
“Nothing!” Robinson said, explaining that they can coexist. A guest noted she had learned there could be a $5,000 fine for transporting one to another location. Robinson noted foxes don’t bother cats, and the critters to be wary of are fishers and coyotes.
Robinson was approached after the meeting by members eager to support her organization. Some members had been aware of the shelter, which is not far from Marion. To others, its work was a surprise. All seemed to take away a warm feeling about the work it’s doing.
For more information, call the Sippican Woman’s Club at (508) 748-1154 or visit sippicanwomansclub.org. Contact It’s All About the Animals at (508) 763-2035 or visit itsallabouttheanimals.org.
Sippican Woman’s Club
By Mary McCann Fiske