Animal welfare advocate and volunteer Kathy Contino-Turner’s unmistakable affinity for animals began at an early age. Her older sister, Anne, recalls the day 5-year-old Kathy dressed up the family’s pet kitten to take it for a ride in a wicker baby carriage around their rural Dolgeville home. “Kathy has always loved animals,” recounts Anne Contino. “She would rescue all kinds of critters — birds, frogs, a snapping turtle, a muskrat. … Mom drew the line when Kathy brought home a snake.”
While in high school, Kathy helped a neighborhood senior resident care for his four Arabian show horses, cleaning the barns and feeding the animals, as well as assisting the veterinarian and the farrier, a specialist in hoof care. Her duties took an unexpected turn one sunny June morning when she awoke to find all four horses had escaped from their enclosure and made their way down the hill to her front yard. As they weren’t wearing halters, the quick-thinking teen used a bag of apples to lead them back to their barn. “I wish I had a picture of that,” she muses today.
Those formative years have led Contino-Turner to continue her role as a dedicated animal welfare supporter on both personal and corporate levels. She financially supports a variety of agencies, including shelters, horse rescues, and wildlife rehabilitation centers. In addition, she spent four years serving as executive director of the Stevens-Swan Humane Society of Oneida County. Formerly employed as the Masonic Care Community’s director of communications and marketing, as well as WUTR-TV’s news director and anchor, the retiree currently volunteers at the Herkimer County Humane Society, where she washes dishes, cleans litter pans, and folds laundry, among other basic chores. “I try to help with those so-called mundane tasks, allowing the shelter employees to spend more time with direct animal care,” she explains.
Among her many heartwarming success stories, Contino-Turner fondly recalls a woefully neglected dog that arrived as a stray at the shelter; believing the dog to be a purebred Afghan Hound (a breed that dates back to the time of Moses), the staff shaved off its heavily matted fur. The dog was adopted, and six months later, the new owner returned to the shelter with the now beautifully groomed Afghan to have its picture taken with Santa.
Unfortunately, not all adoption stories have such happy endings. Contino-Turner actively champions the need for tougher laws governing animal abuse along with strengthening existing ones, such as New York State’s Agricultural and Market Law, which she feels does not carry penalties stiff enough to deter animal abuse. However, she considers the Herkimer County Legislature’s recent approval of Local Law No. 5 a step in the right direction. The law establishes a county-wide online registry of individuals who have been charged with animal abuse crimes — information that would prevent them from adopting pets at animal shelters or being hired by businesses involved in animal care. “When I ran the Stevens-Swan Humane Society, we shared with the other local humane societies a similar ‘Do Not Adopt’ list,” she notes, adding, “The problem is so many ‘backyard breeders’ sell puppies to anyone to make money, with little regard for the animal. Animal shelters, on the other hand, do their best to screen potential adopters and find the best homes possible.”
Contino-Turner encourages pet seekers to check on the availability of pure or mixed breeds in shelters or specialized-breed rescue groups for adoption rather than purchasing them elsewhere. Currently, the number of pets available in the United States is estimated at a ratio of seven dogs and an equal number of cats for every human. As she points out, even well-meaning owners are sometimes unable to properly care for their pets; surrendering them to the shelters puts an additional strain on the facilities when not enough homes for their placement are available.
In addition to her animal advocacy activities, Contino-Turner hoped to improve the quality of life of Mohawk Valley residents by working for the New York Department of Health as a COVID-19 vaccine assistant in 2021. She serves on numerous local non-profit boards of directors, as a Herkimer County election coordinator in local elections, and volunteers her services with marketing for the Utica Maennerchor, a German-American social club, along with other organizations. An accomplished ballroom dancer, she is also a board member of USA Dance Mohawk Valley Chapter #3066, which organizes monthly dances.
In recognition of her countless contributions to the community, Contino-Turner has received many awards, including the prestigious New York State Women’s Inc. Mohawk Valley Chapter’s 2020 Woman of the Year Award, the YWCA’s 1994 Salute to Outstanding Women in the Communications category,and Outstanding New Yorker from the New York State Jaycees.
As these awards demonstrate, Contino-Turner’s unselfishly offered, decades-long community service makes her an ideal spokesperson for volunteerism: “As we age, volunteering helps us retain our purpose. I urge everyone, especially retirees, to donate their time, talent, and treasure to support local agencies that are meaningful to them,” she advises, adding emphatically, “Our children see us giving back, and they get a sense of helping their community without being paid to do so, hopefully laying the foundation for their future involvement.”