Amyrah – 2/22/09-Ollie’s Place
Today was AWESOME!!! Hannah and I showed up at Ollie’s Place (223 East 26th Street) at 1pm, just after they opened up. After knocking on the door, we were a bit uneasy because no one was answering. Then FINALLY a woman with short, blonde hair with arms covered in tattoos opened the door. I waved goodbye to my parents and stepped into Ollie’s Place with curiosity. The downstairs floor was a cluttered pet supplies shop, with shelves and shelves of things that cat owners need. In the back there were 6 cages, each one holding one cat. The woman introduced herself as Jenna, and led us upstairs. Up there, there were 20 cages and about 24-26 cats, wandering around the medium sized cluttered room. The floor was covered in cat hair and cat toys, while the cats stared up at us expectantly. She explained to us that Sundays were “the big cleanup days” and that the two other women who were supposed to help her didn’t show up. Good thing we came along :p. She then explained what our jobs were. We had to take out the bedding inside each cat cage (consisting of a rug, a bed and two blankets) and use a brush to comb the cat hair off. Seems easy right? NAHT. We had to make sure that the bedding from one cats cage, goes back into the same cage. Jenna explained that this was because the cats were rather territorial, and changing their bedding might upset them. While we brushed hair, Jenna began to clean the litters and the bottom of the cages. She explained to us that Ollie’s Place was a no-kill shelter for cats that get sent over from the owner’s ranch in New Jersey (WOOT). The on the ranch, he rehabilitates both cats and dogs, and then sends them to Mighty Mutts (for dogs) or Ollie’s Place (for cats). He keeps the really sick, uncureable cats and dogs with him on the ranch and takes care of them there. Then, when Hannah and I were done, we had to replace all the dry food bowls with temporary bowls and then wash the bowls and put the food back into the bowl in the cage that it came from. As we were working, we got to know some of the cats such as Willow, Mr. Bing (lol), Solomon, Lena, Mini, Demi, Cupcake, Sunshine, Ava, Milo, the Frollies, Dashel, Shorty, Aggie Pancakes and all the other cats. We’re even able to tell most of them apart! Jenna explained the personalities of the different cats, and she really knew her stuff. By the end of the day, the room was spotless, the animals had food and water, and we were playing with them in the center of the room. Kit came to check up, and we were finished at around 4 pm. I LOVED it and I can’t wait to go back! The cats were all adorable, and some even had some miracle stories (such as cupcake) and most seemed to be able to warm up to Hannah and I rather quickly. We will be making another date to come help out and visit. We’ve even thought of what we should do for our sustainability project! -Amy <br> Some pictures!!Hannah, Jenna, Lady whose name I forget, and Kit! dscn1992.JPG <br>The mess when we first got there! :p dscn1930.JPG <br>After it was all cleaned up!!! 😀dscn1987.JPG
