Animals of any kind are nearly guaranteed to bring joy into someone’s life, whether it is the sight that makes them have that quick feeling of awe, or a valuable and heartfelt experience. The most common household pets are dogs and cats, with dogs trending at a slightly higher popularity rate than cats. Nevertheless, there are still many people who prefer cats in the world, but Five Acres Animal Shelter has the best of both worlds— with their Kitty Cottage and Canine Center working so diligently, they provide opportunities for animal lovers to come and choose their very own pet to take home. This organization is a no kill animal shelter who takes in dogs or cats that are surrendered by owners or transferred from other shelters, and mostly runs off of volunteers to take care of these soon to be pets. The Five Acres volunteer coordinator, Mallary Vasquez, goes into further depth about what makes Five Acres unique compared to other shelters. “We walk [the dogs] three times a day at different shift times, they are also given toys like puzzles to stimulate [their brains],” Vasquez remarks. Not only this, but their Kitty Cottage shelter is set up as a more comfortable setting, which allows customers to feel safe and at home, more readily willing to purchase their furry friend.
Setting this shelter apart from the others, is not purely their no euthanization policy, but their ability to get cats in and out quickly of their shelter. Looking at statistics, Vasquez states “[they] have over a 98% live release rate-which is not always the case for most shelters”. On average, the cats are on the floor searching for their forever home for just about 3-5 days. Dogs however, are able to get comfortable in their kennels with their average shelter time being 40 days. Five Acres has set their system up to where no animals must be euthanized, some rules they have in place to help enforce this policy includes their limited space system, their mandatory quarantine period before introducing cats to the floor for adoption, and the transferring of animals to other shelters if they are not having luck being adopted at the Kitty Cottage. Although, statistics show that dogs and cats at Five Acres are extremely likely to be adopted, with their proof of 1,174 cats and 381 dogs adopted in the 2024 year. This organization is willing to give their time to animals who need their help, as shown with the 17,189 volunteer hours that goes towards cleaning cages, helping with veterinary care, and giving the animals time to interact with people and get comfortable with being handled.
Compared to other shelters, Five Acres is a place that is welcoming, inviting, and comforting with their living room like set-up, free roaming cats, and ambient lighting. This environment typically encourages an increased amount of adoptions across the board with their cats. They are involved in many advertising events to get their name out into the public, such as adoption events at PetSmart or PetCo locations, and a “Kitten Palooza” during kitten season— which falls around early spring and goes until late fall. According to Vasquez, the organization was created originally in 1973, and upgraded from a small barn in 2016 to the Kitty Cottage known today. ”Five Acres has been very ingrained in the community, and has provided a lot of support… We don’t just stop at adoptions, we supply low cost bedding, spay neuters, vaccines, [and] free food for animals in need.” On top of this, fostering and volunteering is heavily encouraged by the staff to get involved and bring support to the organization. Fostering can clear up space in the shelter which is crucial during kitten season as well as in general with many cats needing to find a forever home. Overall, Five Acres is a place that is willing to work closely with customers and is a shelter who truly cares about the animals that are surrendered to them.
