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m_d_hThe big animal shelter here in MoCo -- where we adopted Astrid & Sam -- is run by the county government and doesn't need $$$ donations. We're a wealthy & liberal county, so I'm already funding a perfectly good shelter here via my tax dollars. They do accept food donations, so I'll take our leftover cans of Dax food to them, probably next month after P2+7 and I've had a chance to calm down some.
The biggest shelter in DC looks well run and professional, but they pay their CEO $400K, WTF, and lots of big salaries for other officers also. I know living in the DC area is expensive, but, shit, they don't need to be paid more than top government executives. I'm at the very top of the federal GS pay scale now, and I get suspicious of nonprofits that pay their top talent more than federal executives make. I mean, we're talking about an animal shelter, not a lobbying boutique.
If I want to do something other than pay a CEO more than 2x what I make myself, I probably have to look in the Fallen City parts of the country, some of those parts where I want to live after I retire, like Michigan. So I've been reviewing the various shelters in the Detroit area, and I've picked the one with the highest GuideStar rating, and they also pay their CEO only $50K: Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.
$100/month, which matches my highest current donations to other charities. They say $100 covers the average cost of caring for a puppy from intake to adoption, which sounds like marketing copy, but will make me feel good. I'll have them send a card to T in memory of Dax as a surprise.
Maybe I end up living in Detroit after I retire, splitting my volunteer time between an abortion clinic and an animal shelter. Fewer unwanted humans, more wanted pets. Sounds like the best trade I could ever make with the final chapter of my own life.
In the meantime, if I feel adopting my own dog again would be too big of a commitment, I could always volunteer at an animal shelter. I don't have to raise a dog myself to help. But I do still have the cats, the house, T, my job, my own health -- I was already feeling burned out by the responsibilities I've chosen. Let's see how I feel after Quarantine has ended, after we've adjusted to the loss of Dax, after I'm able to go on dates again. I suspect my life will still feel pretty full until I can retire.
The biggest shelter in DC looks well run and professional, but they pay their CEO $400K, WTF, and lots of big salaries for other officers also. I know living in the DC area is expensive, but, shit, they don't need to be paid more than top government executives. I'm at the very top of the federal GS pay scale now, and I get suspicious of nonprofits that pay their top talent more than federal executives make. I mean, we're talking about an animal shelter, not a lobbying boutique.
If I want to do something other than pay a CEO more than 2x what I make myself, I probably have to look in the Fallen City parts of the country, some of those parts where I want to live after I retire, like Michigan. So I've been reviewing the various shelters in the Detroit area, and I've picked the one with the highest GuideStar rating, and they also pay their CEO only $50K: Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.
$100/month, which matches my highest current donations to other charities. They say $100 covers the average cost of caring for a puppy from intake to adoption, which sounds like marketing copy, but will make me feel good. I'll have them send a card to T in memory of Dax as a surprise.
Maybe I end up living in Detroit after I retire, splitting my volunteer time between an abortion clinic and an animal shelter. Fewer unwanted humans, more wanted pets. Sounds like the best trade I could ever make with the final chapter of my own life.
In the meantime, if I feel adopting my own dog again would be too big of a commitment, I could always volunteer at an animal shelter. I don't have to raise a dog myself to help. But I do still have the cats, the house, T, my job, my own health -- I was already feeling burned out by the responsibilities I've chosen. Let's see how I feel after Quarantine has ended, after we've adjusted to the loss of Dax, after I'm able to go on dates again. I suspect my life will still feel pretty full until I can retire.