Finding forever friends

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the cat play room of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter so long.

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the cat play room of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter so long. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Jerry, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, hides in the kitty room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Jerry came with his bonded mate Frankie after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together.

Jerry, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, hides in the kitty room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Jerry came with his bonded mate Frankie after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Jerry, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, rests in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Jerry came with his bonded mate Frankie after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together.

Jerry, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, rests in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Jerry came with his bonded mate Frankie after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Frankie (left) and Jerry, 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cats, in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2. Frankie came with his bonded mate Jerry after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Frankie is more outgoing; Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together.

Frankie (left) and Jerry, 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cats, in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2. Frankie came with his bonded mate Jerry after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Frankie is more outgoing; Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Frankie, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, rests in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Frankie came with his bonded mate Jerry after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Frankie’s is the more outgoing; Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together.

Frankie, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, rests in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Frankie came with his bonded mate Jerry after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Frankie’s is the more outgoing; Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Jerry, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, rests in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2. Jerry came with his bonded mate Frankie after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives.

Jerry, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, rests in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2. Jerry came with his bonded mate Frankie after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter for so long.

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter for so long. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter for so long.

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter for so long. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Frankie, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, sits in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Frankie came with his bonded mate Jerry after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Frankie’s is the more outgoing; Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together.

Frankie, a 14-year-old domestic medium hair cream colored cat, sits in the cat play room at the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Frankie came with his bonded mate Jerry after their owner died. The pair are not brothers but have been together their whole lives. Frankie’s is the more outgoing; Jerry is the quieter of the two and has been the most affected by being in the shelter. The staff at Pope want the pair to be adopted together. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf pets Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter so long.

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf pets Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter so long. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter so long.

Animal Care Tech Skyeler Dierolf comforts Buddy, a Lab Pitbull mix inside the playroom of the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buddy has been at the shelter for 145 days even with his friendly demeanor. Deirolf hopes that the open house on July 13th helps Buddy find a home. He needs outside space to help calm him after being in the shelter so long. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

By GEOFF FORESTER and ARIANNA MacNEILL

Monitor staff

Published: 07-10-2024 5:04 PM

In a perfect world, every pet would have a loving home and a person, or people, to call their very own.

But in this not-so-perfect world, places like Pope Memorial SPCA help pick up the slack when a cat, dog or small animal needs temporary living accommodations on their way to their forever family.

In an effort to showcase the fluffy cuteness inside, and hopefully win the heart of a new human companion, the shelter holds open houses on the first Saturday of the month, though it will be this Saturday, July 13, this month. The open houses give visitors the chance to interact with staff and volunteers, and just get a peek of the shelter, according to Lillian Lavery, director of development and outreach.

“On Saturdays, we’ve historically been open by appointment only,” she said. “So we decided to open our doors on Saturdays, or the first Saturday of every month, for an open house to encourage those to stop in, even if they’re not here to adopt, just to learn more about what we do.”

This also happens to be the shelter’s busiest time of year, Lavery said. It’s a full house for the dogs and the time of year for kittens.

Bonded cat pair Frankie and Jerry do not fall into either of those categories, though. Their owner passed away, leaving the two felines looking for a new open door.

“They’ve just always been together so we wouldn’t want to separate them,” Lavery said.

On the canine side, Buddy is part of Pope Memorial’s “Lonely Hearts” program — the lab-pitbull mix has been in the shelter for more than 45 days, earning the melancholy title.

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“He’s a love of a dog,” Lavery said. “He is really just looking for a companion, someone that has time to dedicate to him.”

 Buddy deals with anxiety, so his new person would need to understand that and provide him with enough space, and perhaps a yard and a friend, she noted.

“Animals come to us from all sorts of situations,” Lavery said, adding that it could be the death of a caregiver, like Frankie and Jerry, or just being surrendered for a variety of other reasons.

But having the shelter open gives these animals a chance to find their new home.

“Why not open the doors on a day that there’s more people free and looking for something to do or adopt a pet?” Lavery said.