Staff and Clientele

NCHS provides support to both the animal and human client. A typical animal client is one who has been relinquished by an owner, lost, or picked up by animal control as a result of neglect, abuse or abandonment. Since animals are without the literal voice, their fate is held in the hands of humans. NCHS provides full-service care to these animals in need, as well as compassion and love so that each animal is given the chance to be adopted in to a loving home. We have a variety of animals ranging from dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents, critters, lizards and livestock. Below are some of our actual clients, available for adoption this very moment!

The human client is either the potential adopter or the owner who can no longer care for their pet and needs a safe and caring place to relinquish them. We offer them peace of mind that their beloved pet will have a wonderful temporary home while waiting for their permanent one. To the adopter, we provide a loving companion and a best friend.

As a student of sociology, I understand that many times there are extenuating circumstances (sickness, loss of job, housing foreclosures, financial troubles, family break-ups, lack of education and so on) that prevent an owner from being able to provide the care they would like. Many times staff and volunteers are quick to judge the owner without full understanding of the circumstances behind it. In my meetings with the Executive Director, I was made aware that she is very informed about the need for these social services. Her education, training and experience has taught her the sociological issues that necessitate these animal care facilities. She is also aware that without the proper teaching, other staff is unaware of the sociological circumstances that cause pets to be relinquished and desires to implement that into staff training.

The functioning of the facility relies on both staff and volunteers. There is a hierarchy of staff, with each position meeting a different need of the facility. Top positions such as the Executive Director or Director of Operations handle the business aspects of the facility and are responsible for the major decision making, yet they have the least contact with the actual clients. Below them, are other administrative positions such as Office Manager, Volunteer Coordinator or Shelter Supervisor. These positions oversee the rest of the staff (front desk, lost and found, kennel staff) and the daily functioning of the facility. They have a balanced amount of contact between both human and animal clients, and have a good deal of decision-making power. The rest of the staff and volunteers have very little to no decision making powers, although they have the most contact with clients. In my observation, the power structure of the organization promotes the idea that some positions are superior to others, much like the power structure in society as a whole. This creates strife and bitterness amongst staff and affects the way in which services are delivered. Staff members or volunteers who are out of the loop or left to do mostly "dirty work" (Cleaning kennels, scooping poop, doing laundry) are not going to be happy within their work environment and therefor less willing to go the extra mile for both animal and human clients.