"Over a year ago, I adopted four "unadoptable" ( for various reasons) cats from Ahimsa Haven. My…read moreadoption experience was amazing, when all cat adoptions were under different management. I wrote a five star review for this shelter. I have since deleted it.
I even became a volunteer doing background checks with veterinarians and personal references for potential adoptees, because I really wanted to help this organization in what I believed was a heartfelt mission, which at that time it was.
I was even asked to become a member of the board because apparently they wanted some fresh new ideas. Well, my fresh new ideas were only acknowledged by one board member, who was not able to influence change up against the other controlling board members.
Prior adoption management resigned as a result of their treatment. I resigned as a result of my treatment. Many volunteers have resigned as a result of their treatment. This is not only an insult to people who volunteer their valuable time to help shelter cats, but it is an insult to the cats who need their help.
More recently, I was involved in a situation where there was a cat in need. Ahimsa Haven ghosted the Volunteer who was trying to get their assistance to bring this cat into their care. To make a long story short, after ACO involvement, this cat was brought into Ahimsa's care and shortly after, adopted out.
Interestingly to me, there was no public posting of this cats's adoption. Ahimsa posts every adoption as a sentiment to all the good they are doing. Why not the same for this cat? Because he came to them under the guise of three former volunteers and not the channel they liked? One of the then current long term volunteers was terminated because they were involved in having this cat brought to them, apparently incorrect protocol by their "rules".
Currently, there is a situation in a town, 16 miles from Ahimsa, from where Ahimsa had previously taken in many cats, where about 20 cats are still living in squalor with no one living on the property to feed them. Ahimsa, despite claiming they would take care of any of these cats if they were brought to them, has offered no help in this situation, when their shelter is nowhere near full capacity and the placement need for these cats is urgent. Apparently they are no longer taking in cats from the streets. These are not street cats, they are abandoned cats. So exactly what cats are they currently saving?
It should not matter how cats in need of help are brought into the shelter, so long as proper protocol, per Massachusetts law, is adhered to, which it was in these situations.
This organization no longer offers to help the cats on the street (in specific and many towns) and there is no sense of urgency to help cats in need, yet the new shelter they acquired stands half empty under the current management.
The majority of Board members of this organization appear to be narcissistic, petty, or silent under the control of the two dominant board members, have no appreciation for their volunteers, and do not uphold the mission that they claim to exist for.
One of the things I loved about the shelter when I first visited was that so many cats who could coexist were roaming freely. Now all cats are caged.
No cat in a shelter/caged environment exhibits their true personality until they come home, realize they are forever home, and understand they never have to fend for themselves on the streets or elsewhere. Shelter cats learn what love, caring, regular food, a warm bed and calm environment mean really quickly when they are adopted into good homes, and become the best pets.
Case in point. The president of the Board of Directors recently adopted an otherwise unadoptable cat herself, crediting herself for her sole socialization of said cat. The truth is the current and former volunteers are the ones who spent time socializing this cat.
Ahimsa Haven does not deserve to be the interim place these cats spend their time. They treat their volunteers horrendously, yet celebrate the wins of their adoptions. It is the volunteers that go the extra mile to socialize these cats and work with these cats while they are in the shelter environment so that they become adoptable.
So, with this review, I want to commend all of the amazing volunteers who put up with the red tape, the criticism, the refusal by management to accept that maybe some of these volunteers have some great ideas, and that maybe they care about the cats more than the shelter "Board of Directors" do, whose mission now just seems to be to "sell" cats ... truly sad.
With this said, think twice before you volunteer at this basically two person run shelter, who will treat you like an imbecile, and use you until you are forced to resign, even though it hurts you because you care so much about the cats in their care.