I have visited and adopted from the Humane on several occasions, and I also volunteer at the shelter. I can attest to the fact that the shelter staff and volunteers work hard every day to make its visitors and its residents as comfortable as possible. Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote for the Humane's newsletter that will give people a sense of the effort that goes into caring for shelter cats and dogs, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. \r
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""For those of us who volunteer inside the shelter, the work is often physical and exhausting-- but the reward is phenomenal! \r
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My assignments have included cleaning the junior and senior cat rooms. Is it hard work? Yes! Imagine walking into a room at 8am Saturday morning with 50+ cats waiting for you to care for them! Some play it cool, but many rush up to you, simply craving hugs and kisses. The daily cleaning process involves dumping all the litter pans, carrying them down to the wash room, and replacing them with clean ones. If you have a partner volunteer or staff member, one of you picks up all the food and water dishes, dumps their contents, and proceeds down to the kitchen for some scrubbing while the other wipes kitty nose prints and footprints from windows, doors and any kitty cubbies they've squeezed into for a good nap. Then you team up to sweep and mop the floor-- all while dodging your little 'helpers' who by now are very anxious to be served their breakfast!\r
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Is this job rewarding? Absolutely yes! After you've placed down fresh comforters, blankets, and towels, you have the opportunity to relax. But don't expect to sit down without having at least 3 or 4 cats vying for a seat on your lap. The first couple times I volunteered, I played with a calico named Tonya who was housed in a lobby cage. She was happy to play with me but very skittish about being touched. Nevertheless, I made a point to talk to her and play with her the best I could. Then one day, I encountered her in the senior cat room, still hesitant about approaching me, but interested in a little playtime. On my next visit, Tonya actually made a beeline to me and rubbed her body against my legs with an obvious invitation to stroke her! Then she followed me around the room-- Tonya had become trusting enough to someday find her forever home! \r
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This is what volunteering at the shelter is all about. My friends ask me, 'Isn't is difficult to be a shelter volunteer? How can you leave there without taking them with you?"" Yes, it's difficult, but words cannot describe the warm feeling you get knowing that you've made so many homeless animals comfortable, content, and adoptable. Give it a try!""\r
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Pros: Caring, professional staff and volunteers
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