Last year, National Volunteer Appreciation Week looked unlike any year prior. The SPCA Serving Erie County chose to continue serving the community as effectively as possible while the county…and the world…continued navigating a worldwide pandemic. Our volunteers stood by, ready and willing to help us continue to serve the people and animals of our community in whatever way possible. This year during National Volunteer Appreciation Week, as we continue to rebuild and restructure, we take a look back at last year’s efforts and again thank our volunteers for their dedication, their loyalty, their smiles, and most of all, for their love.
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION WEEK 2021
Day 3, April 20 [Reposted April 19, 2022]
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands — one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
— Audrey Hepburn
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Gandhi
“Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.”
– Heather French Henry
Today’s appreciation post come to us from Vice President of Veterinary Services Melanie Rushforth:
Since the work of the SPCA Serving Erie County never stopped throughout the COVID pandemic, the need to serve animals in crisis was constant. Volunteers in the Veterinary Services Department ensured the duties within the infirmary and Lipsey Veterinary Clinic never stalled. These volunteers take on hard work and do it with endless compassion. We could not function without them.
In these photos, courtesy of Communications Manager Bethany Kloc, we see Barbara, infirmary and foster care volunteer, waking up a dog named Cavalier (seriously, that’s his name!) after his neuter surgery; and Renee, waking up two cats after their spay/ neuter surgeries.
Thank you to the volunteers in this department and ALL departments of the SPCA, for working so hard to help the animals of our community.
–Gina Lattuca, SPCA Chief Communications Officer
As organizations were forced to close all around us, the need for our SPCA and its services grew exponentially. COVID-19 led to stress of different types and levels, and members of our community asked for unique, innovative ways animals could help alleviate the pressures they were experiencing in their homes and amongst their family members, friends, and coworkers. At the same time, our temporarily-out-of-work therapy pets were desperate for comfort opportunities.
When it was evident the number of requests for therapy visits would only continue to increase, the SPCA created a new program that allowed our four-footed PAWS FOR LOVE volunteers to 
make virtual therapy visits: HOUSE CALLS! 7 Eyewitness News even joined us on some of these house calls by featuring the SPCA’s virtual therapy visits twice each week!
Forty-five of our Paws for Love animals made virtual therapy visits, and in addition to WKBW-TV viewers, nearly 6,000 people took advantage of these video doses of devotion!
remembering well the 2014-2015 outbreak, collectively held their breath, hoping that the second shoe – outbreaks in commercial and backyard flocks – wouldn’t drop. Unfortunately, despite advanced biosafety protocols, the first outbreak in domesticated birds was detected on Feb. 8. Through April 7, USDA has announced more than 600 detections in wild birds across 31 states and 158 detections in commercial and backyard flocks across 25 states.”
Local wild species most at risk are gulls, all waterfowl (including mallards and Canada geese) and marsh birds, often asymptomatic, and crows, ravens, blue jays, and raptors. Haney shares that more than 24 million domestic poultry have been depopulated, and that, according to the American Farm Bureau, 40% of detections have been backyard flocks. “Owners of backyard flocks need to be diligent in practicing bio-security to protect their birds,” Haney warns, recommending flock owners turn to the USDA for information on proper and effective protection.
to be cognizant of transporting objects or materials that might carry infection when out hiking or birding in areas that attract waterfowl; footwear should be cleaned or changed to reduce chances of spreading disease.
Department and Educational Farm have spent many hours planning ahead in the event our organization is faced with admission of animals suffering from this highly-contagious disease carried by free-flying wild birds (ducks, geese, gulls, etc.). with new strains causing illness and high mortality in wild birds and domestic poultry.
The SPCA Serving Erie County extends a heartfelt thanks to the Erie County Health Department for the training, the donation of tremendous amounts of PPE, and fitting attendees for N95 respirators.
