Porter County’s Animal Shelter supports and takes in over 1,000 homeless animals every year. Working tirelessly to find forever homes for each and every one, Shelter Director Jen Schaafsma and her team are excited to welcome mascots Nacho the cat and Biggsy the dog to their team.
“A lot of times when we get invited to events, community members want us to bring adoptable animals along with us,” said Schaafsma. “Unfortunately, certain situations can be really stressful on the animals.”
Respecting and understanding the animals in the shelter’s care is foremost in Schaafsma’s mind.
“We get so many animals here that have an unknown history,” said Schaafsma. “It's really hard to know how they're going to react at a football game, for example.”
Nacho and Biggsy allow the Porter County Animal Shelter to participate in all community events while keeping the animals in a location that feels safe.
The idea for mascots came to Schaafsma and her team straight from her history.
“At the end of last year, we were thinking of ways to continuously increase our presence at community events,” said Schaafsma. “I used to work as a mascot when I was younger, and I already had the professional costume.”
Using Schaafsma’s costume, Nacho was born, and Biggsy joined the team shortly thereafter.
“We used my professional costume at the trunk-or-treat event at Sunset Hills,” said Schaafsma. “Then, we made a shirt for Nacho, and it took off from there. Reminding people of the shelter and making them aware of what we do is always something to be improved upon. One of our big goals for 2024 is to just get out in the community more than we've been able to in the past.”
A visit from Nacho and Biggsy not only helps spread the word about the shelter’s message; they also make those visits more memorable.
“We've always had people take pictures with the donations they drop off or the visits we make, but now they take pictures and interact with the mascot,” said Schaafsma. “They just make it more memorable for the people involved.”
Operating as a no-kill shelter, the Porter County Animal Shelter takes in animals in need.
“More people are thinking of us when they're looking into getting a pet as opposed to maybe going to a breeder or Facebook marketplace,” said Schaafsma. “We protect the animals and provide individuals with so much more.”
Animals adopted from the Porter County Animal Shelter go home up-to-date on their vaccines, spayed/neutered, and microchipped.
“An animal who is up-to-date on its rabies vaccine, is microchipped, and is spayed or neutered is not something that you always get when you go to a breeder,” said Schaafsma.
The Porter County Animal Shelter encourages prospective adopters to review available animals on its website and then contact the shelter to arrange a meeting.
To learn more about the Porter County Animal Shelter or the Porter County Government, please visit portercountyanimalshelter.org.
