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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Bloomington Police help animals find forever homes

Bloomington Police Department officers have found their fur-ever friends at the Bloomington animal shelter every week since 
September 2014.

BPD has been working with and for the community in a special way with their Fur-Ever Friends program, BPD Capt. Steve Kellams said. The program involves BPD officers taking pictures with different animals each week, and it is designed to highlight animals that have a tough time getting adopted, BPD Sgt. Pam Gladish said.

Fur-Ever Friends began after Gladish noticed another department on the East Coast doing something similar and was highly successful in reach out to the community and helping get animals adopted, she said.

“It’s a good way to tie in what we do for the community,” Gladish said.

Each week, the pictures are uploaded to Facebook, and Gladish said they definitely help with getting animals new homes.

Kellams said the program is one of BPD’s most popular social media posts each week and has been since the inception of Fur-Ever Friends. Kellams also said the Bloomington Fire Department has also begun joining in to help showcase the animals to the public.

Not only does the program have a good effect by getting pets adopted, but it is also a good way for the community to see a different, softer side of the police, BPD Officer Manager Jamie Jahnke said.

Jahnke goes through the photos each week and edits them so they can be posted online. She said the positive message of the event each week is a nice change from other negative media 
she sees.

Volunteer Program Director Jenny Gibson said she enjoys the program as well, and it does get pets adopted.

“It’s really fun,” Gibson said. “It’s about the animals and getting them adopted.”

Gibson is in charge of training and directing the volunteers at the shelter. She said she was also excited because it gives people an opportunity to see and learn a little more about the shelter in Bloomington.

Gibson said it’s not always easy to get some of the animals adopted in a good home and keep them out of the shelter for good.

She also said the shelter and BPD would take pictures with certain animals both to highlight troubled animals and to help turnover if they were going to be getting too many of one animal. That way, the shelter would not be overloaded by too many 
animals.

With the help of the shelter, BFD and a core group of volunteers from BPD, the program has continued since 2014, and the enthusiasm has not wavered, Gladish said. She also said it is nice to be able to work with other city agencies to do this kind of community work.

The shelter is also always looking for more volunteers to help with the animals, Gibson said.

Jahnke and Gladish said they have been excited to help the shelter by highlighting animals in need of a home and the work city agencies in helping those animals.

“I think it’s been great, and I hope we can continue,” Jahnke said.

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