Before: For our Capstone project, we must have a site visit. You visit a place that will help you learn more about the topic. I am visiting the Adoption Center of the ASPCA. There I am meeting Senior Vice President of Community Outreach Julie Morris and Senior Manager of Customer Relations and Communications and Head of the Adoption Center Joey Teixeira. When I was looking for who to interview, I first looked at the Board of Directors to see if my family or I knew any familiar names. When we didn’t, I looked at ASPCA Executive Leadership, and immediately knew who I wanted to interview. My mom and I gave Julie a call, and we left her a voicemail. She soon called us back and we planned out our meeting time. Julie soon sent me an email stating that we will also be meeting and touring with Joey. We will meet them at the ASPCA Adoption Center in New York City. We will do some touring of the Adoption Center, and then stop for an interview. I made sure that Julie and Joey were okay with me recording the interview. She was going out of town soon, so we had to schedule it within a few days. Julie was so nice, and we can’t wait to meet each other!

After: When we first entered the ASPCA building we felt warm and welcome. In the interview, Joey said that he wants everyone to feel that way when you enter. “You don’t want to feel like your being interrogated or interviewed,” said Joey. Most people go into that building to adopt an animal or enter a pet to the hospital for treatment. First we had our interview. Look out for a blog post on the interview itself soon! After the long interview, and some talking behind the scenes, we went to the Adoption Center. You will see pictures in my final project. They had areas across the walls of single animals. They stated that they used glass instead of bars and cages because it feels more like a home and less run down. They said that they give them three walks a day each, and this is because they have little space to run and play otherwise, and are very enclosed to the outside world. The ASPCA makes sure the temperature is right, and that volunteers and workers come inside each animal’s area multiple times a day. One dog was getting stroked by a kind volunteer, while another one was happily chewing on it’s bone. But one dog was banging at the glass, whining. I wanted to adopt them all, but I knew that the best home they could have besides a real family, is their own family, the ASPCA!