When Laurene Sandstrom became a first-time mother in 1997, “My daughter was a baby who wanted nobody but mom.”
That was wonderful for the new mom, but also left Sandstrom without an outlet to interact with other adults. When she learned there was a part-time opening at the Walden Humane Society, she applied for the job as a way to mingle with adults and work with animals.
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“I was a dog lover myself and loved working with the animals.” She didn”™t think her part-time job would turn into a multiyear run or eventually lead to the position of dog warden for the town and village of Goshen.
Sandstrom eventually returned to the full-time workplace, taking a position with Hudson Health Care as a representative in Dutchess and Orange counties. “I”™m a great believer in every child having coverage and getting the word out to people that it is not just for people who have lost their jobs, but for those who are employed but can”™t afford the health care premiums for their children. Child Health Plus works on a sliding scale, and has saved many parents from making painful decisions: ”˜Should we pay the doctor bill and not the gas and electric company?”™ My job gives me great satisfaction letting people know there is help out there, especially in these economic times.”
Sandstrom found out there”™s a need for animals to have advocates, too, which led to her second job, which she says is more of a passion than a profit.
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“I had a freezing, half-starved dog running in my yard one winter. I finally coaxed him out of hiding with my famous meat loaf,” she recalled with a smile in her voice. “Then I called the Goshen Police Department for the dog warden to pick him up. They told me the dog warden was on vacation ”“ and then asked if I could keep the dog until the warden got back.”
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Sandstrom presented herself to the town of Goshen Police Department the next day and asked to apply for the job of dog warden. “I was told they already had one and then I explained what happened to me.
“I wondered how many others had called and found themselves in the same dilemma. You don”™t want to leave a freezing or terrified dog outside because there is no one to pick it up. But you might not be able to bring it indoors. In my case, I already had pets.”
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Sandstrom made an impression on the police chief and was told she could have the job part-time when the dog warden wasn”™t available. It became a full-time position for Sandstrom when the regular dog warden resigned. She has been Goshen”™s dog rescuer for the past nine years.
Since Sandstrom is on call 24 hours a day, it isn”™t unusual for her to show up wearing a skirt and high heels. “I”™m sure it raises some eyebrows. After all, who expects the dog catcher to show up in a suit dressed for business? Sometimes I get calls at 2 a.m. When you are a dog warden, there is no time off and you never know when the call will come in.”
While Sandstrom loves animals and has pets of her own, she”™s an advocate of low-kill shelters, but thinks twice about no-kill shelters. “Some animals cannot be trained to be house pets. Some are trained to be killers and cannot be conditioned to adapt. In those cases, I don”™t think there”™s a place for a ”˜no-kill”™ policy. I think it is more merciful to euthanize a dangerous animal and make room for an adoptable pet. I know some that would not agree with that, but I like to see animals in homes, not locked in cages gnawing at the bars to get at you.”
Sandstrom uses her minivan stocked with the necessaries for dog catching for both business and pleasure. “This way, if I get a call, I”™m always prepared. I do have a partition in the back for dogs that are questionable. But for the most part, a lost dog is happy to jump in the back seat for the ride to the humane society. And yes, I am lucky: I”™ve never been bitten.” ?Sandstrom has seen a slight uptick in the number of dogs and cats that have been abandoned, which she attributes to the recession and people being forced to move where pets are prohibited. “For the most part, however, family pets are cherished even in hard times. As an animal lover, I couldn”™t be luckier than to have this as my second job, but it”™s not about money. It”™s about giving back to my community and helping dogs and cats get back to their owners or find good homes.”
