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By 11 a.m. yesterday, Kaiser High School junior Chelsea Kentris had rescued an injured cat, brought a sick dog to the Hawaiian Humane Society to be euthanized and was on her way to investigate a possible case of animal neglect. Kindness to animals
all in a day’s work
for Kaiser studentThe Girl Scouts' mentoring
program gives youngsters a
chance to examine possible careersBy Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinIt was all part of a day on the job with her mentor, humane investigator Cyma Wilson. The two were paired by the Girl Scout Council of Hawaii as part of its "Teaming for Tomorrow" conference, a two-day event in which high school girls were given the opportunity to mingle with women in nontraditional careers.
Kentris, 16, had never been involved with the Girl Scouts. But when her aunt found the application for the program on the Internet, Kentris applied to be mentored by an animal-control specialist. Her interest was motivated by instances of animal neglect that she has observed near her home in Waimanalo. "I want to be able to go in and take animals from abusive owners," she said.
Wilson, 31, had also never been involved with the Girl Scouts, but volunteered to be a mentor when the organization faxed over Kentris' request. "I was in the right place at the right time," she said.
Spending time with animals was a highlight for Kentris, but she learned yesterday that a large part of being a humane investigator was dealing with conflict resolution between humans, and a lot of the interaction with animals is providing transportation for them to the humane society or to veterinarians' offices.
Wilson's first emergency of the morning was rescuing an injured cat, locating its owners through its microchip, then bringing it to the vet. Her second assignment was picking up a dog to be put to sleep at its owners' request. Since the humane society offers the lowest cost euthanasia for pets, Wilson said that duty is a fairly common part of her job, but for Kentris it was a sobering experience.
"I think it's sad," she said, and noted that she hadn't had enough experience to know whether she would have the heart to do it for a living.
Investigating a possible case of animal cruelty in Halawa was more what Kentris had bargained for when she applied to be part of the program. Although she hasn't yet decided what she will major in, or even where she will go to school, she knows that she wants to work with animals and help prevent neglect and cruelty, which she said she sees frequently among the dogs in her neighborhood.
"They don't get heartworm pills, they don't eat, they don't get fresh water, and they're stuck in cages for years," she said. "Then (the owners) get more animals."