Macomb Today

Recently, staff from Macomb County’s Michigan State University Extension (“MSUE”) office made a special delivery to Macomb County’s Animal Control department. The donation, consisting of food, cleaning supplies, toys and newspaper for the shelter’s animals was the result of a month-long collection held at the MSUE Clinton Township and Warren offices and centered on the theme “Give thanks with a grateful heart.”

The campaign, which began shortly before Thanksgiving, was initiated after one of MSUE’s staff attended a volunteer orientation at the Animal Control department. “It’s right down the street from our office. I love animals and thought, why not volunteer there on my lunch hour once or twice a week? So I attended one of their volunteer orientations,” stated Carolyn Doak, MSUE’s office manager. “I was amazed both at the passion displayed by the Animal Control staff and by their efforts to reunite lost pets and to find pets their new ‘furever’ homes.” After Carolyn described her visit to co-workers they too wanted to help out and the collection became a staff project. “We had a lot of fun with this project,” states Madeline Bielecki, a MSUE community nutrition instructor for Macomb County. “I would definitely do this again.”

According to Chief Jeff Randazzo, “Donations like these help keep our animals safe and healthy while we work to reunite them to their owners or find them new homes. We are grateful for our collaboration with MSUE and look forward to future partnerships.”

MSU Extension is an agency within Macomb County Health and Community Services and helps people improve their lives by bringing the vast knowledge resources of Michigan State University directly to individuals, communities and businesses. Focusing on outreach programs, MSU Extension coordinates 4-H club programs and the master gardener volunteer program, as well as food safety and food preservation courses, home buyer education courses and social/emotional well-being courses including the popular Alternatives to Anger course.

In 2022, Macomb County’s Animal Control Department responded to over 4,600 calls. Most were for animal welfare checks but the department did house over 2,000 animals throughout the year. The department is a top municipal animal control division in the State and provides ‘best practices’ training to other animal control divisions.

To learn more about MSU Extension, visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/. To learn more about Macomb County Animal Control, volunteer opportunities and to see a list of needed items that you or your organization can donate, visit https://animalcontrol.macombgov.org/AnimalControl-Home

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status.

Original source can be found here.