By Marissa Sweatland
InkFreeNews

Brittney Shepherd has been volunteering at New Hope Pet Rescue for over a decade. Here, she is with pictured with one of her foster fails, Homer.

SYRACUSE — Brittney Shepherd has been a Syracuse resident for most of her life and has been a backbone at New Hope Pet Rescue for over a decade. The mom of 5 started her journey at New Hope from a push from one of her friends, who was involved at the rescue already.

“I wanted to be able to help in the bigger picture and get access to more resources and knowledge,” Shepherd mentioned.

As she has climbed the ladder of responsibility, Shepherd now wears many hats at the organization.

“I have done, or still do, assisting with cat and dog care, transportation, adoption counseling, fundraising, events coordinating, a board member and am currently assisting with applications, emails and social media,” Shepherd listed.

Although she has over a decade of foster and rescue experience under her belt, she still falls victim to the same challenges that many fosters do.

“The current challenges I have faced is attachment. We have been a foster fail multiple times which is where we end up adopting the animals we are fostering,” Shepherd explained. “I wouldn’t say that’s a negative thing though. I just have to remind myself I cannot adopt them all but that we are a stop on their journey to finding forever home.”

The Shepherd home is filled with eight furry friends, although not all are foster fails, including Kennedy, a German shepherd; Charlie, a doberman; Harvey, a sphynx cat; Zombie, a three-legged cat; Homer, a Maine Coon mix who was born blind; Hagrid, a bunny; and two outdoor cats, Popeye and Turbo. The family also has three fish.

“Even though I would love to adopt them all, clearly that is not something that is possible,” Shepherd mentioned. “Which is why I love volunteering so much. I can make a difference by being a part of the rescue.”

Besides donating their time and money, the best way the community can support New Hope Pet Rescue is by spaying and neutering their animals.

“It is much cheaper to contact a low-cost spay and neuter for one or two cats because they quickly can multiply. Kittens can start reproducing as young as four months old,” Shepherd explained. “Fosters, we need fosters! We take dogs in but we do not like to keep them at our facility. We love when dogs can go into foster care. This keeps them physical active, socialized and more adoptable!”

Shepherd would “really love to see animal rights change to some degree” in her lifetime. She mentioned possibly returning to college to earn a degree in veterinary science, which she would utilize this knowledge within her volunteer position as she loves her full-time job as a hairdresser at Rich Beauty Parlor, Syracuse. She has been doing hair for almost 20 years.

“I am not sure where or if I will ever do that but if I do that but if I do it, it would fit into my goals and dreams nicely,” Shepherd said. “We need more laws regarding animals’ welfare, the rights to TNR and that they are able to live a peaceful life within a community, and more support for rescues and shelters.”