(Left) Annette Clarke is retiring after serving as the Chenango SPCA executive director for ten years. Although excited to retire, she said she will miss the staff, board, and animals at the SPCA, as well as the supportive Chenango County community. (Photo by Dustin Genter of 5th Dimension Photography) (Right) The newly-appointed Chenango SPCA Executive Director Patrick McLaughlin. He began his role at the shelter on Monday, February 6, after several years working as a teacher and director of campus ministry at East Catholic High School in Manchester, Connecticut. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — The Chenango SPCA is saying goodbye to long-time Executive Director Annette Clarke, who is retiring after ten years of holding the position, and welcoming in their new Executive Director Patrick McLaughlin.

McLaughlin recently moved to the area, after several years working in the educational field at East Catholic High School in Manchester, Connecticut, where he taught for five years before becoming the director of campus ministry.

"My work has mostly been in the educational field, working with high school students. That involved a lot of coordinating their volunteer program," said McLaughlin. "So I don’t have any really direct experience working with animals myself, although I’ve been closely affiliated with the nonprofit world and the education side."

He said the career change came about because he wanted to be closer to family, who had moved to the area several years ago, while also working in a role that allowed him to give back to the community.

"I wanted to be closer to my parents, my siblings. So I wanted to come back here, and once I got here, I wanted to find some way to have my time contribute to the community, and that happened to be right around the time that this position was coming open," McLaughlin explained.

McLaughlin began his new role at the shelter on Monday, February 6, and since then Clarke has been teaching him the ropes of running the SPCA.

"He’s doing great," said Clarke. "After I’ve spent the week and a half with Patrick I think he was an absolutely good choice and I think he’s going to do a great job, and I have no qualms about leaving it in his hands, because I think it’s going to move forward the way it needs to.

"There’s a lot to learn and a lot of new challenges to take on, but so far the staff here have been very welcoming, the community has been very welcoming. I’m thankful for all the support I’ve gotten from our outgoing Executive Director Annette Clarke," McLaughlin added. "It’s been nice not to have to take everything over immediately, and kind of get introduced to things gradually and learn all the ins and outs of the building and the organization."

So far, McLaughlin has already gotten his feet wet with the annual Fur Ball fundraiser, which made its return on Saturday, February 11. Moving forward, he hopes to keep the momentum going with more successful fundraisers, as well as meeting the needs of both the community and its animals.

"There are ever-present needs. I am aware that in economically difficult times, people have a hard time meeting the demands of having a pet, whether that’s a medical cost that’s unforeseen, or just the cost of food and cat litter and things like that," said McLaughlin.

"As a result, there could be an uptick in the number of people surrendering, or worst case scenario abandoning, their animals, and they end up here. So priority one has got to be sure that we can meet the needs of the animals who come here, and meet the needs of the community where those animals are coming from."

Another anticipated challenge are the new state mandates imposed in the Companion Animal Care Standards Act, which aims to ensure animal shelters, rescues, and humane societies are providing the best care possible to the animals they take in.

However, some of the mandates outlined in the act may mean some big changes for the Chenango SPCA, including the potential for additions to be built, or a complete rebuilding of the shelter.

Shelters across New York State have three years to bring their facilities into compliance with the mandates.

"The Department of Agriculture and Markets, they’ve enacted some new regulations that are going to make some of the work that we do more challenging, and it might require some modifications to our facility," said McLaughlin. "Thankfully we have a few years to figure out exactly what that will look like, but it will probably be a significant project that requires some significant creativity in terms of rising to that challenge."

Although it's a bit daunting, McLaughlin said he's excited to work on the project and improve the lives of the animals that come through the shelter.

"The opportunity is exciting. There will be a lot of challenges getting the funds, getting the plans. It would be terrible to take off down the road of a project that ends up not actually meeting the requirements, so making sure ahead of time that everything is going to comply," he said. "There’s a lot to it, but at the end of the day, if we can make the situation for the animals even better, then we want to do it."

As for Clarke, she said she's looking forward to retirement, and plans to spend more time traveling and enjoying her many hobbies. But, her departure from the Chenango SPCA is still bittersweet, she said.

"It’s a two-edged sword. I’m anxious to retire, but I’m going to miss this place, and I’m going to miss this community," said Clarke. "They’ve been very responsive, and as I said, great supporters. I have felt very welcome here, and I’ve enjoyed learning about this end of things, and I think we’ve accomplished a lot of great things. So I am going to miss it."

"The board has been great here. They’ve been very supportive and I can’t thank them enough," she added. "I enjoyed working with the people here, too. There’s been a lot of great staff members, and as I said, this community has been great. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in the community, and I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a nice thing."

She said her favorite thing about working at the SPCA was, of course, the animals.

"I like having a cat walking all over my desk or pawing at the pencils at my desk. Or the dogs that would come in, because we used to bring more dogs back here to help socialize them, and it was kind of nice to have an animal sleeping under my desk and that type of thing," said Clarke.

Another favorite was planning fundraisers, and seeing the community come out to support the shelter. She said she hopes the community will continue to support the SPCA in their future endeavors, as well as support their new director.

"I hope, and I am confident, that the community will stand by Patrick [McLaughlin] the way they’ve stood by me," she said. "I know that they have a genuine love of animals and that they will continue to support this shelter in whatever they need. So all I want to do is thank the community."

"I’m really looking forward to getting to know the community better than I know it already," said McLaughlin. "It's the first time I’ve lived here full time, so I'm looking forward to it and hopefully I get to meet everybody and tell everybody about how great the mission of the CSPCA is."

More information on the Chenango SPCA can be found at ChenangoSPCA.org or on the Chenango SPCA Facebook page.