I was sent the following email last night by a former volunteer. It is interesting that the shelter now states it is not adopting cats because they are being "completely checked by our vets" in light of the fact that their policy as stated earlier this week on at least one other occasion and as evidenced by Lori Navrodtzkes' letter below was that 'no current or former shelter volunteer or former shelter employee' would be allowed to adopt cats." I have omitted the volunteer's name, but edited nothing else.
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From: r_tors@hotmail.com
To:
Subject: Visit/Adoption
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:27:30 -0600

We would be pleased to have you visit the shelter--we are located at 5278 E. 21st St., Tucson, between Craycroft and Swan, 22nd St., North on Magnolia, angle to the right, gravel parking lot in front and black wrought iron gate.

We are open on the weekends from 11am-4pm. We currently have an adoption moratorium while our kitties are being completely checked by our vets. Look forward to seeing you. Rosalie at The Hermitage


To: hermitagecats@aol.com
Subject: visit/adoption
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:20:13 -0500

Hello -
I was a volunteer at the Hermitage in 2001. I have recently moved back to the Tucson area and was interested in coming by for a visit. It's been so long since I've been there, I was wanting to come by and see how the facilities and all the cats were doing. I'm also interested in a possible adoption. Please email me and let me know when is convenient, I was hoping to come by before this weekend.

Thank you -

The Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter board voted this week to stop doing home checks as of April 1. These home checks are one very significant way they are different from the Human Society, PACC, and most other rescue groups. After adoption applications are approved, a trained volunteer or staff member visits each home at a mutually agreed-upon time. There are three positives to this home check: it prevents spur-of-the-moment adoptions that have a high liklihood of not working (like getting a kitten as a "surpise birthday present"); it makes certain that the cat is truly being adopted for a life as a pet, and not bait for dog fighting, rodent control, abuse, etc.; and it makes certain there are no hazards in the home. These visits are opportunities to educate people about responsible pet care, especially first-time cat owners.

I worked at the shelter for three years, and when I first started there, I was told that this policy was one of the reasons they had such a low return rate (2-3%, as compared to an estimate of 30% for the Humane Society). While at the shelter, I gave tours, coordinated and made home checks, and also had to deny some adoptions because of unsafe conditions. And I would say once a week there was a potential adopter who became uneasy when they found there would be a home check, and abruptly left, and I saw that as a good thing. Upon learning of the policy, many people commented that they thought that this was a very positive thing to do, and they were glad this step was being taken to ensure the cat's welfare.

There have been many changes at the shelter over the past year, changes I believe have hurt the shelter's mission and vision, and I resigned in September because of them. I encourage others who are still involved to contact the board and let them know what they think about this policy change. The shelter has a bequest program where donors make arrangements in their wills for very substantial sums, in exchange for their surviving cats to be guaranteed acceptance. I would be interested to know if the board will be making arrangements to contact those who have already registered for this program, to let them know that there will no longer be a home check, and that their pet will go out the door with the first person who chooses that cat and has the cash. I am very glad I have other arrangements for my cats.