I just went to the Sean Casey Animal Shelter yesterday. Since from the last time I went there, yesterday's visit was definitely an improvement over what I have seen in the past (must have been due to your letter and the visits!). The people there really weren't that helpful - it was one volunteer who had no idea what I was holding in my arms was a guinea pig and the lady there didn't know how old the adoptable guinea pigs were either... When I went there two years earlier to adopt a hamster, it seemed to be in pretty good conditions but then after I went back, there was a serious amount of overcrowding. I guess there were just too much animals and not enough space? I'm not really sure... But then Sean Casey, the founder, came back and when he's not busy and pushed to the limit, he's actually pretty nice. I asked him if he could help me trim my guinea pig's nails because I didn't want to hurt him - his paws were white and black, so I couldn't see the quick clearly and didn't want to risk hurting him so I asked him to help me cut them. He took the time to sit down in a chair, slowly and gently clip each and every one of his nails, and then checked his ears and his gender (so I could be sure that my piggie wasn't mis-sexed from birth), told me that he was definitely a boy, and that his teeth were a little too long so he helped me file down the upper teeth. All in all, I thought he was a really nice guy to do this for me even though the shelter was pretty buzzing with lots of activity. So they do have their faults, but like I said, they have improved from the last time I was there, which was a year ago.