Five Questions With: Carmine DiCenso

Carmine DiCenso is executive director of the Providence Animal Rescue League.
Carmine DiCenso is executive director of the Providence Animal Rescue League.

For more than four years, Carmine DiCenso has applied nearly 20 years of experience in the animal welfare and human services fields to the Providence Animal Rescue League. He is also a board member of the New England Federation of Humane Societies, secretary of the Ocean State Animal Coalition and the Rhode Island representative on the Humane Society of the United States Companion Animal Advisory Council. Here he discusses the challenges of rescuing animals and running a shelter.

PBN: Animal cruelty and neglect have been making the news lately. What does your organization do to prevent it?
DICENSO:
The cases people read about in the news are usually the rare and most extreme examples of cruelty and neglect. These are best dealt with through legislation and the intervention of law enforcement. We work closely with other animal welfare organizations as part of the Ocean State Animal Coalition to present laws to the legislators that can strengthen the fines for animal cruelty. These laws can also empower those tasked with enforcing these laws with the tools to prevent cruelty and punish individuals found guilty of crimes toward animals.
Prevention is the key. At times, cases that turn into neglect can be avoided by proactively working with people and animals in a nonjudgmental manner and by offering support and resources. Our nonprofit has several community outreach programs that provide access to wellness veterinary care, affordable spay or neuter, and emergency pet food assistance.
The league also has staff members that conduct weekly door-to-door outreach and offer assistance when needed. It’s our hope that access to these services can help people care for their animals before a situation gets out of control.

PBN: How does the Pets for Life Providence program work and how are you expanding it?
DICENSO:
The league has been operating the program since late 2012. The program works in specific target areas of South Providence and provides assistance to pet owners in areas that are generally underserved by animal welfare organizations. Our staff conduct door-to-door outreach in specific target neighborhoods to build relationships with pet owners. During outreach, we are able to identify areas of need and provide assistance aimed at keeping people and animals together. The program offers access to routine vaccinations, wellness care and spay or neuter services, and has performed 1,800 spay or neuter surgeries in the past three years.
The Rhode Island Foundation provided a grant from September of 2014 through September of 2015 that supported the program. The foundation has provided another grant for 2015-16 to support the program as it moves forward.
This will allow for extended services to assist with behavioral counseling and support. Many animals are surrendered to shelters due to behavioral issues. We believe that by offering assistance in this area we can help people and animals remain together.

PBN: As a nonprofit shelter, what types of animals do you care for and now many do you have at any given time?
DICENSO:
The league cares for over 2,000 animals each year in the shelter. Last year, we also cared for 1,700 animals as part of our outreach services such as our Pets for Life program.
The majority of these animals are cats and dogs. However, most people are surprised when they hear that many other small animals end up in our shelter including hamsters, guinea pigs, rats and rabbits, the third most common animal in shelters across the country. We typically have three to six rabbits in the shelter every day of the year.
The league is very similar to most New England shelters in that we care for about twice as many cats as we do dogs. One of the contributing factors is that there are many free-roaming cats in the community. This, combined with cats being prolific breeders, leads to unwanted litters arriving at our shelter door on a regular basis.
The league is committed to providing solutions to these serious issues. It is the only shelter in the state of Rhode Island that has an in-house surgical wing. Every cat, dog and rabbit is spayed or neutered prior to adoption. Our newest effort is offering free spay or neuter services through our Pets for Life program.

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PBN: What are your primary sources of funding and how are you growing that income stream?
DICENSO:
The Providence Animal Rescue League is a nonprofit and receives no state or federal funding. The organization is funded mainly by donations from supporters and other fundraising events and activities. We also raise funds through grant writing and service fees.
At the league, we believe that you must first do great work to help people and animals so that is where we focus our resources. We also believe that once we share this work with our supporters they will want to support our efforts. The mission-based work is always the place to start. The organization is constantly looking for ways to increase support and believes that the way to increase this support is by sharing the work that we do for our community.

PBN: How many volunteers do you have and how do they help with operations and keeping the nonprofit afloat?
DICENSO:
The reach and effectiveness of our organization is magnified greatly by our volunteers. The reality is that we would not be able to help as many animals as we do each year without them. We have more than 100 active volunteers that work on a variety of assignments for the organization.
Some volunteers work weekly shifts in the shelter alongside staff, cleaning and caring for the animals. Other volunteers work in the community to organize fundraisers and other outreach events. On average, volunteers work more than 300 hours per month for the league. That is a lot of hours put in by really passionate and dedicated people! We are so thankful for all they do for the organization and animals.

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