December 16, 2021 – Meet Adoption Services Lead, Charthy Irvin! Charthy has been with the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County for over 24 years. She helps Make Happy Happen every day for both pets and people!
Q. What does a day in your life at the shelter look like?
A. My main responsibility is customer service, so I work with the public in person and over the phone. I enjoy problem-solving and helping the public get the information they need as well as helping our adoption services team. We also have a store here at the shelter that I oversee. The public can come in and get food, treats, accessories, and whatnot for their current pets or newly adopted ones.
I also run the barn and business cats program, which is a program that finds a safe place for cats that are not suitable to be housecats. They’re more undersocialized and do well in outdoor spaces, like barns.
Q. What’s your favorite part of working here?
A. I become more and more of an animal lover every day of working here. I really enjoy working with undersocialized or harder-to-adopt animals and helping them transform and trust people. I always want to take them home with me and give them love. Actually, I’ve fostered over 15 animals, and every single one of them I’ve ended up adopting. Right now, I have four pets – a cat and three dogs. I brought each home as a foster and they quickly became a part of my family.
Q. Any special stories you’d like to share?
A. There’s been so many! But one that comes to mind is my girl, Stella. She came into the shelter with an eye condition called entropion. That’s where the eyelids roll inwards, which can be painful. When I met her for the first time, she was sick and was in rough shape with her eyes watering and congestion with snot on her face. She gave out a little bark just to get my attention and that was it – I knew I had to take her home. Now, she’s an incredible family dog. My kids and my grandkids just love her.
Q. If you could give one piece of advice about working with the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, what would it be?
A. Get ready to fall in love. There’s going to be an animal that steals your heart – there always is.
Interested in a career with the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County? Check out job opportunities here. Want to volunteer or foster? Learn more here!
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