More Than Puppy Love

15 Aug, 2011Featured, Volunteering Stories

I recently found myself in a gap between careers, with an old job ending sooner than expected and no way to start with the new one any before 2 months. As someone who used accustomed to an extremely hectic work and life schedule, I knew that simply staying at home and using the time for relaxation as my friends suggested would not be an option. After about 2 days I was anxious to find something, anything, to occupy my time that didn’t involve staring at a computer screen for the entire day. My I remembered that when my daughter was younger, I had accompanied her class on a trip to the local animal shelter to see how they take care of the animals and what they could do to help them find homes. I figured this would be a great opportunity for me to do something that was out of my comfort zone since I love animals but had never really gotten to experience the less fortunate side of animal care and rescue.

I had a vision in my head of my first day, mainly filled with brushing kittens, playing fetch and possibly scooping some less pleasant items but that would be the roughest stuff I would encounter. It turned out to be quite different, as there was some serious puppy love going on. I could never have imagined all of the emotion that is involved with this type of volunteer work. The worker who assisted me with some basic training and guidance was clearly attached to not only the animals, but to the responsibility she had to them to protect and nurture them as if they were her own. And I suppose at that stage they really were her own since no one else would claim them.

I was also struck by the instant bonds that seemed to form between the people who came in to adopt a new pet and the animals that were so hopeful and eager to be given a new life. That is more than puppy love if you ask me. Within minutes a family could tell which dog would fit in with them best or a young couple just knew what kitten had stolen their hearts. It was this type of joy that made me so happy with my experience there. Even though we were there with the animals each day and saw them come and go, each animal got to become a lasting part of a family. I may have had to do some of the dirty work to keep the facility running, but there were so many other aspects that completely made up for it. If you are thinking about an opportunity like this, just go for it. I hadn’t volunteered for many years but it was something I’m thankful I tried because there is one more part of life that I understand a little better now. I think that is the best part of getting to volunteer, expanding your knowledge and making a difference somewhere in life.