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In my retirement years, I find myself doing more and more volunteer work for organizations that are important to me. One of those is Lollypop Farm. I’ve been fostering cats and kittens for almost two years now, and more recently have been helping out with the shelter’s free vaccination events held downtown.

But a few weeks ago, I participated in a very interesting and very useful emergency drill held at the Monroe County Fleet Garage on Paul Rd., in conjunction with the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management, the Ginna Radiological Team, Webster Animal Control and Seneca Park Zoo. It was Lollypop’s first-ever Animal Emergency Response Team drill. We don’t often think about it, but if there’s ever an emergency which requires evacuation, family pets will also be affected, and plans have to be made to accommodate their needs as well.

The scenario was an emergency evacuation due to an accident at Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, which would definitely affect us here in Webster. If that were to happen, residents and animals would have to report to different shelters for decontamination.

About a dozen community volunteers (including me) participated in the effort, bringing our own live pets (including a guinea pig) or stuffed animals. Our first stop was to drop them off at the decontamination area, where we were photographed (to make sure we were reunited with the right animals) and received registration paperwork. It was really interesting watching the staff members manage a lot of little details you wouldn’t think about — even to the point of how to handle the paperwork without becoming contaminated. After a short while, we received a call telling us to drive around to another area and pick up our pets.

According to Barbara Hollands, supervisor for the Webster Police Department’s Animal Control Unit, “The purpose of the drill is to see where we need to improve, modify, or streamline a process. Once we analyze this drill, we will then start to bring in the other entities within the county that will need to be added, such as the DEC, veterinarians, Verona Street, etc.”

She added,

All aspects of decontamination are drilled. There are specific protocols that are and need to be followed, much like the beginning of COVID. Basically, you do not want to spread anything. It is all about containment and cleaning, with proper disposal of the contaminated materials.

And above all, “Keep your hands away from your face!”

Lollypop Farm is the only shelter which has come this far in creating response teams, so they’re leading the way. We here in Rochester are extremely fortunate to have such an amazing organization watching out for our four-legged family members.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 10/28/2025)

Tags: Lollypop Farm, Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY

Note: I had this blog all written and ready to post even before I learned today that Lollypop Farm is expecting to receive more than 80 dogs from a local hoarding case. They really need foster parents to lighten the load. Please read this blog, and consider becoming a foster.

Many of you know that I foster cats and kittens for Lollypop Farm. I’ve written about the experience in my blog and talk about it all the time at social gatherings, because I love it so much.

Right now, Lollypop has a lot of families officially registered as fosters, but most of those families are not very active. So the need is great, and constant (think about the recent hoarder case in Penfield where the Humane Society rescued more than 50 cats), and many more fosters are needed. Often the animals which are brought in need time to get stronger, bigger or need medical respite before they can be adopted out.

That’s where we come in. Fosters might stay with you just for a week, maybe as long as a few months. But every single one of them just needs a place to be loved and cared for until they find their forever homes.

Lollypop sent out a plea last week asking foster families to tell about their experiences. I wrote mine about the cats we foster, but it could have very easily been about dogs, rabbits, even hamsters. Here’s what I wrote:

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My husband and I have had cats all our lives, so when our last feline friend, Lily, passed away a few years ago, she left a huge hole in our hearts. But we were newly retired and knew we wanted to do a lot of traveling. It really wouldn’t be fair to get another cat if we planned to be gone for long stretches of time. 

Becoming a kitty foster parent was the perfect alternative. By fostering a cat (or even better, KITTENS!), our hearts and home would be filled with love again, but we would still have the flexibility to travel. 

Whenever I tell people that I’m a foster, the immediate reaction is, “Oh, I could NEVER do that. I wouldn’t be able to give them up.” It was from these folks that I learned the term “foster fail.” Yes, I say, it is hard. I fall in love with every foster that we welcome into our home, and I cry every time I have to say goodbye. But I know that for every kitty I return to Lollypop, there are dozens of others awaiting loving foster homes, and I can provide that. 

So far, the turnaround has been brief; since we began fostering last fall, I think we’ve only been “cat-less” for a few days. I believe the record is less than 24 hours. 

Two of the cats we’ve fostered are part of Lollypop’s MaryEllen Program, which is another level of wonderfulness. Cats in this program still belong to their original owner and are temporarily entrusted to Lollypop’s care due to some family emergency or difficulty. I love knowing that my being able to provide continuing loving care for their feline family member removes a little bit of stress from what must be a difficult time.  

One of the best things about being a Lollypop Farm foster mom is the incredible support we get from the foster team. Despite the great volume of critters passing through their offices every day, they treat each one like it’s their favorite. Foster families are never short of supplies — food, litter, toys — which are a simple phone call away. Staff members patiently answer your questions (and I’ve had a lot of pretty dumb ones) and address any of your concerns. And if there’s ever an issue which requires veterinarian attention, the clinic staff (equally amazing) is there for you. 

When I tell people that I’m a Lollypop foster parent, they very often respond, ”Oh, that is SUCH a caring thing to do!” Of course I agree with them, nod, and thank them for their kind words. I DON’T tell them that a huge part of my motivation to be a foster parent is purely selfish. 

I love cats. I need cats in my life. The fact that there are cats out there that need me as well is just a wonderful bonus. 

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Please consider becoming a Lollypop foster family. It’s extremely rewarding. Click here to go to the Lollypop website to find out more and fill out the foster parent interest form.

Even if you can’t become foster right now, there are other ways you can help: 1) donate funds to help assure that animals in need get plenty of food, medical and behavioral support. 2) donate supplies; in addition to towels, blankets, and flat sheets there are many supplies that are needed to work with shelter animals. Click here to see Lollypop’s Amazon Wish List.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 4/16/2024)

Tags: Lollypop Farm, Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY