They’ve solved problems for me. They’ve helped me help others. And they’ve brought me joy beyond measure.
Who am I talking about?
Animal shelter staff and volunteers.
It’s National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week
It’s obvious that shelters and rescues help animals. They keep them off the streets, find them good homes, provide medical care. But when I realized it was National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week, I was amazed to find how many ways I have personally benefitted from the work of my local shelters and rescues.
Here’s the short list:
- We adopted Agatha and Christie from the Philadelphia SPCA.
- The Philadelphia SPCA helped us set up a trap and release program for cats in our neighborhood.
- The animal control officer at our local shelter stopped a neighbor from letting her dog run off-leash and attacking my dogs.
- When I found a lost mini pinscher puppy, the SPCA helped me return him to his home.
- Shadow came to us from the Tompkins County SPCA.
- The supervised play group at the SPCA helped us decrease Shadow’s reactivity to other dogs.
- We completed basic training classes with Shadow (at a discount) at the SPCA.
- A volunteer with the local Golden Retriever rescue vetted me and recommended Honey’s breeder.
- Honey enjoyed the puppy playgroup at the SPCA and got great socialization.
- The SPCA taught the beginning K9 Nose Work classes we took with Honey.
- I’ve had great experiences fostering dogs for the SPCA.
Wow! Who would have thought animal shelters and rescues would do so many great things for people?
Saying Thank You
I’m heading up to the SPCA in a little while. I baked some goodies for the staff and volunteers and will drop them off with some desperately needed cat food, other supplies, and a donation check.
I’m very thankful to people who work for very little money to do challenging work to help animals, both the human ones and the other kinds.
Your Video Sunshine
Here’s a cute video made to celebrate the week last year. I especially like how realistically it shows the range of personalities you’ll find in many shelters.
But we need to see more bunnies, rats, guinea pigs…
Have you done anything special to say thanks? And, if you work or volunteer in a shelter or rescue, how would you most like to be thanked?
That video is absolutely perfect!
We don’t live close enough to our favorite shelter to be able to help and volunteer as much as I’d like. However, we do take them up some much needed supplies once a year and we try to keep up with their comings and goings so that we can support them when we can.
As a person who does volunteer a lot (just not at the local shelter), I’d have to say that it doesn’t really matter to me what people give us, it’s more the idea that someone takes the time to say thank you and recognize that we donate our time. I know that shelters are strapped for money, so I think something creative that was hand made would mean the most to me. If they did little ornaments or pins with shelter dogs’ and/or cats’ footprints or nose prints, that would make me extremely happy. Heck, the thing that makes me smile the most is usually the letter that we get from the group we volunteer with for nursing home visits every year!
When I was a puppy, I was what is politely called a “challenge” to train and we met a number of dog trainers who were useless. Then we discovered that a training centre ran classes. The classes were good and there were a number of excellent trainers always willing to give advice and ideas to try.
What a fun video! Who can resist happy animals? I used to volunteer at a cat shelter, but had to stop due to back problems. Since then, I just donate money every year. My daughter has rescued any number of stray kitties and dogs off the street. While I take credit for her ‘cat whisperer’ status, she inherited that trait from her paternal grandmother and aunt!
P.S. Kudos to you, Pamela, for all you’ve done and continue to do for animals!
That’s great!
I worked with Innova on a blogging project, and at the end of the project they offered to donate to a dog organization of my choice. I split the generous donation between Petfinder (where we found Kelly) and Peppertree, the local rescue group where we adopted Brooks. It was great to be able to help, through Innova.
What a lovely thought! I am sure they will all be so touched that you stopped by just to say thank you. Staff and volunteers deal with a lot of negativity on a daily basis so something so positive like this can do wonders. I am sure the goodies don’t hurt either as most of them work for a very low rate. Free food is no doubt very appreciated! 😉
I would agree EXCEPT for the ASPCA in New York City. I paid their fee and attended the two required training classes to become a volunteer and then went to the hands-on orientation. The “leader” didn’t like the way I put on a harness I had never seen and didn’t like the way I walked a dog. I have been walking my dog and friends’ dogs for more than 12 years.
Bottom line: I was refused the opportunity to volunteer to play with and socialize dogs. I didn’t even want to walk dogs. I tried to arrange for a second orientation and no one replied to my e-mail or calls.
The pity of it is, I am retired and have ample time to volunteer. So much for the ASPCA in NY.
Volunteers are so incredible!
Volunteers ARE incredible; Silverwalk has been flooded for two weeks now with coed volunteers from our local university. A former volunteer saw me at Panera (my local coffee/bakery haunt) and spread the word. I don’t think they know how much good they are doing walking and just being with the dogs. They want to do more hands on (yep, I had a couple poop scoop last night) but I’ve seen dogs adopted only because of the socialization from meeting and interacting with different volunteers on a weekly basis. THANK YOU.
Foster homes, as many of you know, are extremely important. I’m trying to find temp. foster homes for as many dogs as possible while I’m having surgery and in recovery for most of December; people are stepping up to the plate, for which I’m most grateful.
I need to be more careful to send those thank you letters individually – thanks for the reminder, Georgia Little Pea.
I love it! It’s so true… I’ve gained so much from rescue organizations. 🙂