Given the amount of activity that has been going on over the last six months or so, there are two volunteers that we would like to acknowledge for going above and beyond the call of duty in supporting or representing SMART.

Frank Taylor is our IT superstar. He has built an absolutely amazing online intake system that we can eventually utilize at any emergency shelter that we set up. It streamlines the intake process and will ultimately help to get animals into the shelter and settled in their temporary digs as quickly as possible, minimizing the stress for all involved.

In addition, Frank has built our new database and is helping us over the speed bumps associated with any system implementation. This new database is absolutely critical to our being able to respond quickly in an emergency, to keep our contacts informed and to deploy the right resources.

Both projects have required a great deal of time and effort on Frank’s part. We cannot thank him enough.

Diane Treadwell is one of our volunteers from Marblehead. Her experience as an animal control officer and with other animal-related work has brought a wide range of skills to our organization. Over the last few months, Diane has been deployed twice as a SMART volunteer working on a team with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). In November, she assisted in the second week of the puppy mill response in Arkansas. Diane assisted in a variety of ways: caring for animals in the shelter and in isolation, establishing more efficient processes and assisting the veterinary team.

Most recently, Diane was part of the IFAW team that responded to a large cat rescue situation in Florida. She was there during the first week when the focus was on rescuing close to 700 cats. Her tasks included getting them triaged, providing immediate veterinary care and getting them settled in to their temporary housing. This was an extremely challenging situation, and Diane did an exemplary job.

Kudos to both Frank and Diane for helping us to become a stronger organization and, most importantly, for enabling us to better serve animals in difficult situations. After all, that’s why we’re here.