Passion for animals

Stephanie Flower is the new executive director at the Caroline County Humane Society in Ridgely. She comes to the local Humane Society with an extensive background in animal welfare.

“I’m incredibly passionate about helping animals, and I’ve been doing it for a long time,” she said.

Flower began her career in animal care as a zookeeper at the Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania. She said her intention was to work with exotic animals. She was intrigued by big cats.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in veterinary and biomedical science at Penn State, but chose Hunter College in New York when she decided to pursue her master’s in animal behavior and conservation.

While a grad student, she worked at two different animal shelters in New York, igniting a newfound passion for helping homeless animals, and her career took a turn from zoos to shelters. She also earned her certification as a professional dog trainer.

Flower has spent countless hours working hands-on with shelter animals and has lived in Maryland previously, working at the Baltimore Humane Society.

Most recently, Flower worked and lived in Cleveland. She moved to Denton when she took the job here and expects to be joined shortly by her significant other and her pets, a Persian cat and a 12-pound Pomsky dog (which she explained is a Pomeranian-Husky mix) named Berry. Appropriately, both are rescues.

She said she wants to get the shelter out into the community more. Homeless pets are a community problem, she said, one that needs a community solution.

Some of the Caroline Humane Society shelter’s primary needs include:

1. Volunteers – Flower would like to develop a more robust volunteer program. Volunteers are the lifeblood of a shelter, she said. Some immediate tasks where volunteers could help include cleaning out the cat kennels, spending time helping socialize the cats, and walking dogs.
2.  Fosters – The shelter has great fosters who already are providing temporary homes for around 25 animals, but kitten season is starting. Many more foster homes will be needed.
3. Affordable veterinary care – a need not just for the shelter, but for the entire community, Flower said.

Flower has plans to build a behavior program for animals at the shelter as well as providing enhancements for them.

Applications to volunteer or foster, as well as for adoption, are available on the website, www.carolinehumane.org. And a new computer system is coming soon to the shelter, which will make everything easier, she said.

If someone is considering adoption, Flower said she would encourage them to consider a longer-term shelter resident or an older animal. They have a lot of love to give, she said.

The shelter is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.