Lisa Schuette is this week's guest on Women to Women. Lisa is founder and chair of the Carson Animal Services Initiative, a non-profit organization with a mission of raising money to assist Carson City as it builds a safe and modern animal shelter.
The current Carson City animal shelter was built in the early 1960's when the population of the city was about 5,000 residents. Schuette explains "sheltering" back then primarily meant getting animals off the street until they were either adopted or euthanized to make room for more homeless animals.
"Since the original shelter was built, Carson City has grown over ten-fold experiencing increases in both the human and companion animal populations. Unfortunately, our shelter did not grow with the increased need," said Schuette.
The current structure has many foundational problems including: faulty plumbing, lack of space, heating and cooling problems and poor air quality. The increased companion animal population and the movement toward a "no kill" philosophy have resulted in inadequate resources to provide efficient and effective care for the animals. In addition to sheltering, Carson City Animal Services supports the community by addressing safety issues, animal complaints and offering solutions to animal welfare dilemmas. The current outdated structure and lack of space for both animals and human caregivers is impeding these goals.
Carson City needs a new shelter to safely and humanely house animals as they wait for their forever homes. A new, modern building will provide many opportunities for the community and CASI is helping lead the way. These include providing humane education for children, creating clean, pleasant surroundings for potential adopters and improve the environment in which the animals are socialized. A new shelter will also provide employment and volunteer opportunities and allow Nevada's capital city to model compassion and responsibility.
In its third season, Women to Women Nevada, hosted by Carol Paz of Carson City, is televised on Charter Media every Thursday at 7 p.m. on Channel 190 in Carson City, Gardnerville, Dayton, Reno, Sparks, Fernley, Fallon and Lake Tahoe. The program also airs Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays at 8-8:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to noon. Episodes also appear every Friday on Carson Now.
The locally produced and privately owned program features Northern Nevada women who are making a difference in their communities and in the region.
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