SIDNEY — It’s raining cats and dogs at Dorothy Love – at least it’s raining cat and dog supplies.
New administrator Ryan Douglas organized a contest among employees to see who could gather the most pet supplies for the new SCARF (Shelby County Animal Rescue Foundation) animal shelter.
Douglas felt the facility should try to give back to the community in thanks for all the support Dorothy Love has received during the pandemic.
He encouraged employees to gather food, toys, cleaning supplies, towels, collars, grooming tools and more for the new facility. Over 2,000 items have been received and the number continues to grow.
The final count for donations was green team, 339 items; blue team, 881 items; pink team, 1,213 items; and red team, 1,482, for a total of 3,915 items donated to SCARF.
With the pandemic hopefully nearing an end and things slowly starting to open up, Douglas thought it was a good time for a friendly competition among employees.
“Team leaders for the effort are employees Shelli Neth, Elizabeth Foy, Robin Marsh and Lori Puterbaugh. They, in turn, recruited other staff members to complete their team. To add a little enthusiasm whoever raises the most donations gets to put a pie in the face of an opposing team captain. Some have suggested that Douglas himself should participate in the pie ceremony!
Douglas is new to Dorothy Love replacing administrator Jana Ranly who left this winter. Douglas is a graduate of the University of Northwest Ohio and has spent nearly a decade working and volunteering for other senior living facilities. Long term care has always been an interest for Ryan and he wishes to always advocate for Dorothy Love residents and make a difference in their lives.
He worked for HCF Management in various roles including Van Wert Manor — administrator in training, Shawnee Manor – assistant administrator, Lima Manor – administrator, and Briarwood Village – executive director.
“Here at Dorothy Love it been a great sense of relief to hear laughter around here again as teams organize their treasures. So far they have raised over 2,000 items for donation,” said Douglas. “I am dumbfounded by the sheer number.”