Today I went to visit the Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center at Nevins Farm. I had never heard of this place prior to my conversation with Erica Ruch, she suggested giving it a visit. I was very impressed with the place. It is a large property with many animals of all varieties. I only took pictures of the outside of the main building and of the property. It didn't open until noon time, but there was a long line formed outside the door waiting for it to open which was really surprising to me.
It was really interesting (and aggravating) observing the other people who were also there. It put visual imagery in my head to match up with articles I have read. By this I mean, for example, I have read articles on cases of dog bites, how dog bites have occurred and how the people in most situations are at fault. I watched as a young girl (around 12 years old) and her mother stuck their hands through a fence trying to reach a pit bull who was visibly agitated and angry- she was barking and growling with her tail hidden. A staff member yelled at them THREE times with in 10 minutes telling them not to stick their hands through the fence (which there were also many signs saying the same) because the dog was getting upset. They kept ignoring the woman to the point that the staff member had to take the dog back inside and put her back in her kennel. So this dog's outside time had to end early due to ignorant morons.
I also watched as a mother let her small son (around 3 years old) throw rocks at the chickens, and she just laughed along like it was the cutest thing she had seen. It was really aggravating to watch.
Inside the adoption center was very nice. It was large and organized. Each room had volunteer monitors to watch over the animals, each of them had knowledge of each individual animal such as where they came from, their age, and so on. Most of the dogs had pending adoptions or completed adoption processes. The number of cats was unbelievable. They had many in kennels and there was also two large rooms filled with cat furniture and around ten cats in each room.
On the way out I saw a man with his two small children standing in line with 3 birds in a cage and a very young black cat. I had assumed he was adopting them because the children looked very happy and the man looked/was acting very casual and content. But when a staff member approached him it was clear I had assumed wrongly. What I learned from eaves dropping on the conversation was he was there to surrender the three birds and cat. I was surprised because he seemed completely fine giving up these pets and showed no signs of remorse. (But to be fair, this could also be because he was with his two small children and didn't want to make them upset. It was clear the children didn't know what was going on and that they wouldn't be leaving with the pets.)
Here is a list of adoptable pets at the Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center at Nevins Farm
