Sherree Meyer has been a "jack of all trades" during her five-and-a-half years as the director of A Second Chance Animal Shelter.
"You have to know human resources, how to hire and, unfortunately, terminate people; you have to know bookkeeping and payroll; you have to know Excel and Powerpoint to do presentations; and you have to know medical (applications) to help the animals," said Meyer, who has tendered her resignation as director to the shelter Board of Trustees. "You have to know how to do a little bit of everything."
Meyer resigned technically in May, she said, in order to join her husband in retirement. But, she said, shelter officials have yet to find a proper fit for the director's position.
"I've loved everything about being here," Meyer said. "I love the animals and the people I work with. It's a challenging job. It keeps you going. There's always something new that comes up."
Meyer said she has been "absolutely amazed" during her time with the shelter at the kindness the public has toward animals.
"People are so selfless to pick-up hurt and abandoned animals on the side of the road and find ways to get them medical attention or try to keep them or work with the shelter to foster them," she said. "There's just so many people who give so much back to the animals."
Meyer said the most challenging thing about the position has been seeing the aftermath of abused and neglected animals.
"It's hard to see animals who come in hurt badly or abused," she said. "It's sad to see an animal that when you raise your hand, it tucks its tail or cowers and runs."
Meyer said the shelter worked with two formerly abused and neglected dogs for more than a year.
"You could hardly approach the dogs at the start," she said. "We had volunteers and staff that would just go out and sit in the pen and read to them. After months, when they would finally come up, we'd start to give them treats, but they still wouldn't take the treats initially. Eventually, they'd take the treats, and we did that every day for more than a year. Those dogs finally got adopted out."
Meyer said once she's able to retire, she hopes to spend time with her husband and her grandkids. The latter live in Pelion.
"They live a little far away and it would be nice to be able to see them more," she said. "My husband is retired and we want to be able to spend more time together."
Qualifications and specifications for the director's position can be found at this link. For more information, call (803) 473-7075.
