Personal tragedy leads to new life, career for Animal Protectors’ shelter manager Mike Post

Coping with the grief that followed the dying of his father took Mike Post’s lifetime straight to the canine.

Post, 42, of Decreased Burrell is the shelter supervisor at Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley in New Kensington. It is not where he imagined life would lead him soon after graduating from Burrell Higher School in 1998.

“It’s humorous how life turns out in the extensive run,” he stated. “Sometimes things transpire for a reason. The position you’re supposed to be is where by you conclude up.”

After substantial college, Write-up educated as a surgical technician with UPMC and commenced performing as a vacation nurse in 2005. It took him across the continental United States, to Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In 2015, he found himself in Boston and thinking about settling there forever. Nevertheless, he arrived back to Lessen Burrell to assist care for his father, David Post, when he fell sick from heart illness. He died in November 2015 at 62.

To take care of his grief, Put up claimed he resolved to stay close to Decreased Burrell a minimal though. He adopted a dog, Yogi, an American Staffordshire terrier, from Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh.

“He actually helped me deal with my grief and get me back in the planet,” Publish claimed. “I knew at that time I wanted to do something with animals heading forward.”

Write-up also was looking at an Animal Planet actuality demonstrate, “Pit Bulls & Parolees,” and its stories about the rehabilitation of the two men and women and dogs. He commenced imagining about how pet dogs can support folks offer with depression, like he experienced.

“I needed to get into the animal subject and investigate that far more,” he stated.

Figuring his medical background with individuals could transfer to animals, Submit attended the Vet Tech Institute in Pittsburgh and attained an associate’s diploma in 2018.

Just after performing in a couple of clinics and gaining experience, Article stopped by Animal Protectors in February 2020 to see if they required any support. At the time, the group occupied a compact developing on Linden Avenue.

As it turned out, they desired a new medical coordinator.

“I felt that was surely ideal up my alley,” he explained.

By the end of 2020, Animal Protectors moved into its new and significantly more substantial shelter on Church Street.

When the shelter’s former supervisor still left in November, Put up went to the organization’s board and stated he would be joyful to do anything at all he could to help. They questioned if he would take into consideration having that position.

“I by no means definitely needed a leadership posture,” he reported. “When the prospect arrived up, I figured I’d take on the challenge.”

Dr. Betsy Kennon, a retired veterinarian and volunteer at Animal Protectors, reported Post has been a godsend to the shelter.

“He has definitely completed wonderful matters for the shelter,” she claimed. “He has been a actual reward.”

Post is sporting two hats for the shelter. He is doing the job as shelter supervisor while nonetheless serving as medical coordinator. As the supervisor, he oversees the shelter’s day-to-working day functions and its staff members of 12 staff members and a handful of volunteers.

Receiving the volunteer application back again up and operating just after the covid pandemic setbacks is just one factor Post is doing work on.

Put up said his get the job done as shelter supervisor is additional difficult and time consuming, but he’s up for it.

“The most effective element of it is looking at an animal go home to its eternally home,” he said. “There’s almost nothing like that.”

The eyesight: A neighborhood cornerstone

Article sees Animal Protectors as a cornerstone of the neighborhood, wherever folks can entry resources, instruction and solutions they if not could not manage.

That contains reduced-cost spaying and neutering, schooling lessons, a assist group for all those mourning the death of a pet, a low-expense euthanasia software, and instruction on vaccines and ideal diet programs for maintaining pets pleased and healthy.

Animal Protectors President Katie Martinez reported it is an fascinating time at the shelter, and the board is on the identical website page as Publish.

“He operates unbelievably challenging to make the shelter the most effective it can be,” she explained.

Publish even now has Yogi and a 2nd doggy, Annie, a pit bull combine, who he adopted in 2017.

He suggests pet adoption for these experiencing depression.

“They give you a feeling of function,” he said. “And they will get you up and transferring and drive you to be energetic again.”

Article mentioned his father was an animal lover, and he experienced each pet imaginable expanding up. He thinks his father would be delighted with what he’s accomplishing currently.

“It’s been a distinctive route but I’m happy it finished up where it did. I get to do what I like each individual day,” Put up reported. “Sometimes lifestyle throws you curveballs. You just have to go with it.”