Get to know our staff

Name: Meg Yohn

Position: Feline Behavior and Enrichment Coordinator

What you were doing before you came to ARL: I’ve done quite a few things, but right before this, I was a third-shift warehouseman, throwing kegs and cases of beer for a living, driving forklift, loading trucks, et cetera. I’d started volunteering here as a photographer to keep my sanity when I got off work. When I lost that job, I took the plunge and applied here; fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes crossed. Best decision I could have made.

Pets at home (include name, age, breed!): 7 cats: Muttle; the derp, Stache; the spaz, Boo; the screamer, Willow; the noodle baby, Adeline; the angel, Bernard; the brainy lunatic goose in a cat-suit, Nugget; the torbie siamese. (AKA; Bucket of attitude)… It’s an interesting crew.

How long have you been at ARL, and what does a typical day on the job look like for you?

Oh my goodness, is any day typical? I first check in to see if there’s any help needed for cleaning in the morning, and from there… I do behavior assessments and modification for our cats and make sure we have the right information in our system to make sure they get the right home. I conduct behavior consults for families in need, whether it’s small questions or major problems that have them on the brink of surrender. I do enrichment and clicker training for our cats, build informational tools for clients, the public, and our staff on feline behavior and welfare, work on revising, expanding, and strengthening the behavior program, making DIY cat toys, run the Cat Pawsitive program – the list never ends, really. I like growth and diversity…so I’m always looking to put new things into my agenda to shake it up.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

Uhh. I don’t know. You know, I actually think I’d call it “I don’t know.” Or! A word that is meant for something unknown or difficult to figure out, like “Enigma.” I like the word enigma. My life has been a riddle wrapped inside of a mystery inside of an enigma…or something, how does that line go again?

What is your favorite thing about your job? What is the most challenging?

There’s so much. My favorites… Seeing behaviorally challenged animals make progress, seeing them go home, helping my clients keep their companion animals (and hearing them tell me all about their repaired relationship and how much they love them, whereas just a few weeks ago they were ready to kick them out or crying to me over the phone and at their wits-end), responsible guardianship, building, strengthening, and retaining the human-animal bond.

The challenging stuff…understanding I can’t do it all. I can’t help everyone, and I can’t save every animal from coming into the shelter. Handling the tough calls, the sad people, and the sick animals can get difficult. Also, the vitriol some spew towards the organization…we’re not perfect, but, man…in four years I have seen such an improvement in care!

What is one thing on your bucket list that you really want to cross off soon?

I want to take a for-real diploma or certificate program, or even get a legitimate degree soon…rather than keep taking all of these rinky-dink professional development courses I do now. I’d also like to start rock climbing and get into art again!

What are your hopes for ARL/What do you hope we can accomplish as a team in the future?

I envision so many possibilities that I already see us headed towards with time. I want massive TNR programs. I want grassroots educational/outreach programs going beyond ourselves, welfare problems, legislative problems, all of it! I want legislative programs. I want to do classes for the public. I want to do more behavioral training. I want to build my department bigger and better! I want a new building one day so we can have a ton of free roam cat area and vertical space and can ditch tiny kennels forever…grumpy cats who hate cats can get portaled kennels with more space and call it a day. Mobile behavioral counseling, mobile adoptions! Selling behavioral aids and supplies to make things easy. Starter kits, too. Everything to set a new guardian up for success. I dream big. I want so many things for us and our community, and I can’t wait for us to achieve these things!

If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be?

It might sound weird, but I’m really into genetics right now. I want to learn more about how certain genes influence certain things, and I’ve always been intrigued by how it all works. I’d also like more formal English education; y’know, the really nerdy stuff so I can decipher the most cryptic writing! Forensic science really interests me, too. And of course, rock climbing and art. I want to learn all the things. I am a perpetual student. All I do is read stuff. They called me Encyclopedia Meg growing up because I just store random facts.

Tell us about a shelter animal you’ll never forget.

I will never forget Rambo. He was a diabetic, obese tripod cat who was surrendered last year, couldn’t walk, and was terribly shut down. I enrolled him in our Cat Pawsitive program, and I bought him a walkabout harness to take weight off his legs and support him in training because his legs would literally buckle beneath him. We got him mobile again so he could take several steps on his own before needing to rest – he didn’t buckle as much anymore, he became so much more social, rubbing and rolling as soon as he’d hear our voices.  His diabetes went into remission, no more insulin…and I think he lost somewhere between 1-3lbs before getting adopted. Rambo was a champ!

What is your favorite memory at ARL?

The day I was hired? The day I was told there would be a feline behavior program? The day I was asked to head it? Those days we all got together after tough times and…just, were a team, and still do. Getting accepted into Cat Pawsitive..twice! A lot of kooky times with escape artist cats, silly things…I have a lot of stories, I don’t know!

Cats or dogs?

Cats for me! Dogs are great, but we don’t communicate well for some reason! And, for me, as a woman on the spectrum who is easily overstimulated (just like many of the cats I treat!)…they’re just too noisy and hyper for me! Me and cats just “click!” and maybe being neurodivergent is a part of that – I feel we’re a lot alike, intrinsically! I’ll still snuggle a pup when they’re calm and cozy, or take them on a walk – but, I’m easily overwhelmed with those not of the feline kind.

Any last words of wisdom? (Share a life motto, quote, movie line, etc.)

Never stop learning, never stop trying. It’s never too late, keep on growing. Don’t be afraid to be you; no matter what that means – we’re all a little weird! Be good to others, always have an open ear, a hungry mind, and a generous heart…

Name: Amanda Mellinger

Position: Pet Placement Specialist

What you were doing before you came to ARL: I worked in restaurants for many years before I made the leap to adoption/animal care and I’m so glad I did!

Pets at home (include name, age, breed!): 3 guinea pigs: Milton (2) Harvey (2) and Henry the Skinny Pig (1) (Henry is a hairless guinea pig I adopted from here and if you’ve never seen one, they look like baby hippos!)

I have 3 hamsters adopted from here as well: Frido Kahlo (2) Paige (10 weeks) and Yozhik (5 months)

How long have you been at ARL, and what does a typical day on the job look like for you?

I worked here previously, but I couldn’t stay away and asked to come back shortly after I left! I am a pet placement specialist, so once we are open for adoptions I spend my day helping people find their new best friend! I am also the adoptions lead for the small animals here at the shelter, so I spend time making sure our small animal room is ready for incoming animals, write accurate bios for them, and educate my team and the public on the care of the smallies!

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

“What just happened?”

What is your favorite thing about your job? What is the most challenging?

My favorite thing about the job is definitely spending time with the animals and seeing them go into their forever homes! It is also really uplifting when adopters send us photos of their new family members and we can see them living it up!

The most challenging thing is seeing the same great animals get passed up time after time because they are a little bit more difficult. It really hurts to see them brought back after only a few days of trying. We know how great they can be, we see their potential, but we understand they need a special someone to give them the time they need to blossom. It’s hard to see them looking so sad as they wait their turn for love.

What is one thing on your bucket list that you really want to cross off soon?

I would really like to take a Fall vacation in the woods somewhere secluded (maybe Vermont!) in a lake side A-frame cabin with a small group of friends and a lot of good beer!

What are your hopes for ARL/What do you hope we can accomplish as a team in the future?

I hope that one day people can get over themselves and their perceptions of who the ARL WAS and take the time to see us for who we are NOW. We’ve grown so much as an organization and we have such a wonderful team now. Everyone working here busts their buns to make sure every animal coming through this building is shown love and is cared for. The adoption team in particular goes above and beyond each day to be a tool for the community, and works hard with the public to find everyone the right fit for their home.

In the future I hope we can expand our organization and provide more services for our community and those in need. There are so many people who love animals and aren’t always able to access the vet care or grooming services they need, and it would be really awesome to have things like that or (my dream) a cat café! Serving coffee and doing adoptions simultaneously! What could be better!

If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be?

I am currently attempting to learn Spanish! We have a lot of people in our community that are solely Spanish speaking and it would be really great to be able to help them instead of scrambling to find someone who is fluent.

Tell us about a shelter animal you’ll never forget.

If you ask anyone they all know my answer to this! Molly! AKA Molly Wobbles! The best hippo in the world. We got a pittie in that was brought here by the police. They went to the house to arrest her owner and she came wobbling up to the door so they shot her in the neck. So I’m expecting this rough and tumble, vicious beast and I turn the corner to find…a big grey pittopotamus smiling from ear to ear at me! My Molly bear! She was severely overweight, had a bullet in her neck, and was happy as could be. I fell in love! We put her on a weight loss plan and took her for short walks every day. I would climb into her kennel with her and give her eye medications and cuddle with her. We took her to the Reading Museum for a field trip! I still have pictures of her hanging on my wall, she was the best dog and now she’s happy in her forever home being loved up on and rolling around on every couch!

What is your favorite memory at ARL?

One night after we closed we were feeding all of the animals and giving them their medications before tucking them into bed. My coworker, Andrew, asked me what I thought this one particular medicaiton smelled like and I immediately and correctly replied, “Skateaway Roller Rink.” We still laugh about that!

Cats or dogs?

Both! I could never choose!

Any last words of wisdom?

Be nice to each other and be nice to yourself. Life is hard enough without being nasty to people all the time.  A little kindness goes a long way!