Hope lives in no kill shelters

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) — No kill shelters work to save every animal they can. If they have a curable illness the shelter will make sure they treat the animal and find them a forever home.

Meet Jonesy a black tom cat. He originally came to the Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter as Pepper with open wounds, a deformed ear and had feline immunodeficiency virus. Because UPAWS is a no kill shelter they nursed him back to health and found the Boehm family, who instantly fell in love with him. They adopted Pepper a year ago and renamed him Jonesy.

“He has a really nice home now and he is very cared for,” said Ann Brownell, community outreach coordinator for UPAWS. “A lot of shelters that are kill shelters would not have put the resources into keeping and helping a kitty cat like Pepper and Pepper was well worth it.”

“He is an adventurous kitty,” explained his owner Tracy Boehm. “He loves attention. He’ll sit in your lap, he actually climbs on the back of the sofa when I get home and will meow at me until I get home and sit down to pet him. He’s the best cat; we have a theme song for him.”

Alger County Animal Shelter is also a no kill shelter. They have both dogs and cats and are generally at capacity, but adoptions happen regularly. No kill shelters like this always need volunteers and donations for their animals who require special care and medical attention.

“Our veterinarian bills are pretty high, but that’s what the money is for that people donate to us,” explained Linda Johnson, manager at the Alger County Animal Shelter. “We’re these animals guardians until we can find a wonderful loving home for them.”

Because of no kill shelters like these across the U.P. animals like Jonesy get to play in their forever home with their owners who cherish them.

“I think about how much different Jonesy’s life is now that he is with us, but I also think about how different our life is with Jonesy,” said Tracy Boehm. “That’s why adopting shelter pets is just such a great option.”