Mobile Adoption Center

Cop by day, animal rescuer by night - it sounds like the plot of a summer blockbuster, but for Sherry Drescher it’s a reality.

Drescher is a 48-year-old University of Cincinnati police officer, but her true passion has always been helping animals.

Regardless of whether she’s working a 10-hour shift at UC, all of Drescher’s mornings typically begin the same:  Out the door by 4 a.m., she loads up her truck with Meow Mix and heads to a large Mt. Airy apartment complex to feed the cat colonies there. 

The result of people not spaying or neutering their pets, this is just one of the pockets in Cincinnati where cats have been left to multiply.  In Mt. Airy alone, Drescher estimates that there are about 60 feral cats.  She acknowledges the danger in tending to animals in the dark, risky parts of Cincinnati.

“[Rescue work] is worth the time, effort and jeopardy we put ourselves in,” Drescher said.
Next, Drescher delves into the numerous e-mails and phone messages asking for her assistance to foster a stray, loan her truck for hauling or taking a litter to get spayed or neutered.  Her work is time consuming and never finished, but that fact does not cause her to lose hope in her mission.

“People are able to take care of themselves; the animals that we have domesticated are not,” she said.

The culmination of Drescher’s rescue work will make its debut this year: a mobile animal adoption center.  Using her own knowledge of cars and some money she made as a day trader, Drescher is converting a 1996 diesel Ford F-450 shuttle bus into an all-inclusive pet mobile.  Once complete, the bus will be equipped with full electricity, heating and air conditioning, antiseptic flooring, comfortable cages and even plasma screen televisions.

Drescher first thought of the mobile pet center four years ago, but it has taken time to gain support and funds for such a large job.

“Yes, I’ve been obsessed with this bus idea for months,” Drescher said.

She plans to get cats and dogs from overcrowded and understaffed rural kill shelters.  With the bus, she will be able to move them into the Cincinnati metro area, where more people are likely to adopt pets.  This bus will be the first of its kind in the Tri-State and Drescher hopes to gain continual support from the rescue groups she has worked for.

One of the many organizations Drescher works with is Save Our Strays.  Founded in 1998, S.O.S. is a nonprofit no-kill agency that works with cats and kittens in the Cincinnati area.  If a volunteer finds a cat that is too wild to be adopted, the organization will spay or neuter the cat, vaccinate it and release it back into the wild. S.O.S does not have the funds for a shelter, so every cat that is adoptable is taken into a volunteer’s home as a foster.

Adoptions can be set up through the S.O.S. Web site or at the Oakley PetSmart, located at 3401 Alamo Ave.  Every Saturday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. S.O.S. sets up a display of adoptable cats.  Each cat has been spayed or neutered and has proof of vaccination.  By partnering with a chain store, the organization and its cats get more exposure to the public.  Those who adopt a pet can also purchase all the food and supplies that they need in one stop.  In exchange, PetSmart gets increased pedestrian traffic and a higher return rate.  Drescher sees the partnership as a mutual benefit for the animals, rescue agency and the retail store.

Drescher has a super hero quality to her: She volunteers virtually all of her free time and gets very little recognition.  But as a hardworking independent rescuer, her efforts are not alone.  The volunteer rescue community is a tight-knit group that always seems willing to reach out and help each other protect animals.  And just like Batman has Robin, Drescher has a partner in rescuing.

Chandani Jones is a second-year law student at UC. Her love for animals began at a young age at her home in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  She learned about the importance of spaying and neutering at a young age when she volunteered at a local animal shelter.  Jones explained that most people who live in the Caribbean do not spay or neuter their pets and overpopulated shelters often euthanize stray animals.

When it came time for Jones to pick a career path, she knew she wanted to work with animals.

“I couldn’t be a vet because I’m terrible at math,” Jones said with a grin, “but I became interested in law.”  Consequently, Jones decided to work in an animal justice sector of law.

While UC does not have an individual animal justice program, Jones recognized that the school is very animal law supportive.  She is currently working on an individual research program where she is exploring animal justice along with three other law students.

Jones first began volunteering with Drescher a year ago and was inspired by her drive.

“[Drescher] really does so much for animals, and does it so quietly,” Jones said.
Most of the work they have done together was not for a particular organization, but work for stray cats around Cincinnati.

“People who love animals have to be willing to do anything,” Jones said.  This includes fostering and weaning a litter of four-week-old kittens and feeding hungry cat colonies late at night after classes.

As for the adoption bus, Jones is very eager.

“[Drescher] plans to take the bus to schools and teach kids about adopting and spaying and neutering pets,” Jones said.  “Most kids already love animals at a young age, but this will help them learn to respect animals.  It’s a very smart idea.”

On Saturday, Feb. 7, PetSmart seemed more like a zoo than a pet store.  With S.O.S. in one corner, Adopt a Dog in another and shoppers filing in and out, every aisle was crammed.  Jones stopped by to meet the volunteers and see the pets available for adoption.

“This is dangerous,” Jones joked, “They’re so adorable, I could justify adopting another.”  Jones already had two cats of her own.

The S.O.S. cats all looked comfortable and content with one or two per cage.  Each cat had a detailed description of its veterinary history and behavior.  Cleopatra lounged on her plush throne as Butters rolled on her back, vying for attention.  But it was a black, long-haired kitten named Cosmo that caught Jones’ eye.

Cosmo stuck his paw out of his cage, introducing himself to Jones.  His piercing green eyes made Jones swoon.

Before long, two hours had passed and Cosmo was still working his charm on Jones.  He knew he was coming home with her.

While Jones had no intentions of adopting a cat that day, she saw that Cosmo truly needed to be adopted.  Once she saw how socially he interacted with other cats, her decision was made.

“See, this is what it’s all about,” Jones said as she transferred Cosmo into a portable carrier.

Both Drescher and Jones recognize the misconceptions about animal rescuers.

“My mother is going to think I’m crazy,” Jones said with a laugh, “But most people who rescue animals are not stereotypical ‘crazy cat ladies.’  We have full-time jobs and families but we make time for it anyway.”

Drescher agrees. 

“We are just normal people who care about animals and encounter them in our everyday lives,” she said.