Petition to Reinstate the Volunteer Program at the Havelock Animal Shelter

Why This Matters

The City of Havelock has suspended the volunteer program at the Havelock Animal Shelter — a decision that places animals at risk, overwhelms staff, and threatens the shelter’s ability to operate safely and humanely.

With only one full‑time employee, and two part time, volunteers are not optional. They are critical to daily operations, animal care, and public safety. Removing them has created an unmanageable workload that no two people can sustain.

What Volunteers Provide
The Havelock volunteer team is strong, dedicated, and deeply committed to the animals. Their daily work includes:

• Cleaning 18 dog and cat kennels
• Feeding, watering, and deep‑cleaning for over 30 kittens and adult cats (a process that can take 14 hours when done thoroughly)
• Tackling nonstop laundry
• Washing and sanitizing dishes all day
• Walking, socializing, and enriching dogs
• Grooming animals
• Transporting animals to spay/neuter appointments
• Supporting adoption efforts
• Helping maintain cleanliness and order
• Providing emotional care and human interaction
• This is skilled, reliable, compassionate labor — provided for free.

 

• The Shelter Manager’s Actual Workload
  The Shelter Manager is responsible for an enormous list of duties that cannot be completed without volunteer support. These include:
• Clean dog kennels
• Clean cat kennels
• Rescue coordination
• Volunteer coordination
• TNR coordination
• ACO supervision
• Shelter management
• Reception duties
• Maintain records
• Meetings with supervisors/city officials
• Euthanasia decisions
• Spay/neuter transport
• Public relations
• Issue and manage all medication calls
• Daily medication administration
• Vaccinations for all shelter animals
• Laundry
• Dishes
• Social media
• Adoption photos
• Responding to animal complaints
• Investigating cruelty/neglect
• Trapping cats for TNR
• Issuing and following up on citations
• Managing intakes and outcomes
• Typing reports after calls for service
• Issuing city and rabies tags
• Inputting all tags issued by City Hall
• Maintaining inventory of all ACO gear
• Maintaining cleanliness of the work truck
• Completing all annual state licensing requirements

This workload is far beyond what one employee can safely manage, especially while caring for dozens of animals.

Without volunteers, animals receive less care, less enrichment, and less attention, and the shelter becomes overwhelmed and staff become burned out.

 Consequences of Removing Volunteers
Suspending the volunteer program has immediate and harmful effects:

• Animals receive less enrichment, exercise, and human interaction
• Kennels and cat rooms cannot be cleaned thoroughly or consistently
• Medical and spay/neuter transports fall behind
• Laundry and sanitation tasks pile up
• Staff become overwhelmed and burned out
• Adoption preparation slows
• Overall animal welfare declinesThis decision does not protect the shelter — it harms it.

What We Are Asking
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the City of Havelock:

• Immediately reinstate the volunteer program
• Work collaboratively with volunteers to ensure structure, safety, and accountability
• Recognize volunteers as essential partners in animal care
• Implement clear guidelines instead of eliminating support
• Prioritize the welfare of the animals, which depends on adequate staffing and volunteer assistance

Why This Is Urgent
The animals at Havelock Animal Shelter deserve consistent care, clean living conditions, enrichment, and human interaction. The staff deserve support. The community deserves transparency and responsible shelter management.

Reinstating the volunteer program is the fastest, simplest, and most effective way to protect the animals and stabilize shelter operations.

Please sign this petition to support the volunteers, the staff, and — most importantly — the animals who depend on them.