Throughout a majority of my high school years I volunteered at my local shelter called Furry Friends. Every minute of it was gratifying. I would go in twice a week for about 3 hours and walk and play with the dogs. Such a small deed like this made the world of a difference to each dog I interacted with.
You wouldn’t believe the effect that volunteer interaction had on the dogs. For employees of the shelter walking time meant business. They had 50+ dogs to walk within an hour or so. This is where volunteers really made a difference. Just by having more people to walk dogs gave each walker a little more time to interact and play with the dog while on the walk. Not only that but it gave the dogs more outside time. Being cooped up in a crate all day was very debilitating for some of our dogs and it sometimes even led to depression. This is why the shelter was so grateful for volunteers, just by spending a little extra one on one time with the dogs we were able to help bring out more of their personality.
Another great thing about volunteering is that there was always that one dog that only reacted positively towards you. Some of the dogs were very skittish and distrustful when they come into the shelter, especially if they came from a dark past.
My all-time love from Furry Friends was Seirra. She came from an abusive home where other dogs were purposely poisoned and killed. After the incident came to light she went to a Good Samaritan. After only a month or two the previous owner was out of jail and threatening to take Seirra back, so the Good Samaritan brought Sierra to Furry Friends where she could remain safe. My theory is that this man used Seirra in dog fights because she had major trust issues. Yet she just seemed to trust me more than others. It’s not that she was aggressive or mean to any of the other employees or volunteers it’s just that she had more of pep in her step and she wouldn’t keep her tail between her legs around me. We formed a bond of trust that eventually led to her ditching her timid traits around others and once the levies broke she was a completely new dog, so happy for any love and affection that came her way. When I left home to come to school up here Seirra was still at the shelter, but I had no doubt that she would find her forever home. Sure enough she was adopted 2 weeks ago by a young couple. Now she’ll get double the love!
You wouldn’t believe the effect that volunteer interaction had on the dogs. For employees of the shelter walking time meant business. They had 50+ dogs to walk within an hour or so. This is where volunteers really made a difference. Just by having more people to walk dogs gave each walker a little more time to interact and play with the dog while on the walk. Not only that but it gave the dogs more outside time. Being cooped up in a crate all day was very debilitating for some of our dogs and it sometimes even led to depression. This is why the shelter was so grateful for volunteers, just by spending a little extra one on one time with the dogs we were able to help bring out more of their personality.
Another great thing about volunteering is that there was always that one dog that only reacted positively towards you. Some of the dogs were very skittish and distrustful when they come into the shelter, especially if they came from a dark past.
My all-time love from Furry Friends was Seirra. She came from an abusive home where other dogs were purposely poisoned and killed. After the incident came to light she went to a Good Samaritan. After only a month or two the previous owner was out of jail and threatening to take Seirra back, so the Good Samaritan brought Sierra to Furry Friends where she could remain safe. My theory is that this man used Seirra in dog fights because she had major trust issues. Yet she just seemed to trust me more than others. It’s not that she was aggressive or mean to any of the other employees or volunteers it’s just that she had more of pep in her step and she wouldn’t keep her tail between her legs around me. We formed a bond of trust that eventually led to her ditching her timid traits around others and once the levies broke she was a completely new dog, so happy for any love and affection that came her way. When I left home to come to school up here Seirra was still at the shelter, but I had no doubt that she would find her forever home. Sure enough she was adopted 2 weeks ago by a young couple. Now she’ll get double the love!