My Year As A Shelter Volunteer
At the start of 2022 I was an enthusiastic volunteer at a local city animal shelter. The year is coming to a close and my enthusiasm has turned to dust. I’ve done a lot of self-reflection lately and I don’t think I’ve ever begun a year in one frame of mind and ended it in an entirely different mental universe.
As a child, I’d relentlessly hounded my parents to get us a family dog. One day I came home from school and my mother said we were going to pick out a dog. Just like that. She drove us to a strange house and a woman led us to where the cutest puppies I’d ever seen were scurrying about.
The woman gleefully shouted, “Pick whichever one you want!”
My sister and I settled on a little black fluff ball we were told was an Irish breed called a Kerry Blue Terrier. We looked up Irish names in our Mom’s copy of ‘What to Name the Baby’ and decided to call her ‘Stacy.’
Stacy was the start of a lifelong connection with dogs.
When I moved to a new part of town last year, I eagerly looked for a volunteer opportunity that would help connect me to the neighborhood. Working at a local animal shelter seemed like a perfect fit for me. And, for the first several months, it was an extremely fulfilling, positive experience. It was hard work, but I met other committed volunteers who showed me the ropes. I learned how to keep the dog kennels and cat cages clean. Laundered mountains of blankets and towels so the animals felt cozy in their small enclosures. Eventually, I began to take the larger dogs out to the shelter yard for enrichment. I began to give tours of the facility to new volunteers. There was a small but mighty group of us helping to support the shelter staff in any way we could. I felt like I was making a difference in the lives of the animals there and it felt good.
As the months went by, we lost some long-term, skilled staff members. Our head of volunteers and lead trainer both left for similar positions in a neighboring county. They were frustrated that the top brass wasn’t listening to suggestions they felt would help move things forward within the system.We were now about two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning, people were stuck at home and began adopting animals in droves. Now, those same folks were going back to work and no longer had the time or energy or interest in dealing with these ‘pandemic pets.’ Dogs, cats and rabbits were being owner-surrendered to the shelters in massive numbers.
When I first began my volunteer work, there were about 90–100 large dogs at the shelter, mostly Pit Bulls, Shepherds and Huskies. There were now upward of 170 dogs at our shelter alone. Overall, there were about 1200 dogs at the six city shelters with not nearly enough staff, volunteers and resources to handle the load.
As if it wasn’t bad enough losing some of the best staff members, one of our most experienced volunteers was terminated for speaking out about shelter conditions to the media. There were only a handful of us who were there to take the big dogs out during the week, and now one was gone. The pressure to take mounting numbers of dogs out was draining. With so few volunteers to help, dogs were staying in their kennels longer and longer.
Initially, I’d only planned to volunteer two days each week. But, that went up to three, then four days a week. There were so few staff members on site, volunteers had to start feeding the dogs breakfast and dinner every day. The rabbit room was constantly running out of hay, a crucial part of their diet. I tossed and turned night after night worrying about all the animals and their lack of proper care. I could feel my anxiety starting to ramp up. I was a wreck. My doctor put me on an anti-anxiety medication and told me I needed to take a break or find another type of volunteer work that was less stressful.
I made the difficult decision to step away from the shelter environment. I could continue helping with the social media pages run by volunteers. This was a crucial way to highlight specific animals, especially those scheduled to be euthanized for medical or behavior reasons. I was also one of only a few who knew how to approve new animal website photos submitted by volunteers. These are things I could do from home.
But, I wanted to do more.
During my time at the shelter, I had met a woman named Jill who ran a non-profit rescue called Outta the Cage. Jill would come and video tape herself with high-risk dogs or long timers who had been there for a year or more. There were plenty of rescues pulling the little guys, but Outta the Cage was one of the few helping the Pitties and Shepherds and Huskies.
Thanks to her savvy social media skills, Jill finds homes for the hardest to place dogs. And they thrive in their new environments. She recently found a home in Calgary for a Pittie named Thor, who had been languishing at the shelter for a year and a half. A shepherd named Mystery, who was terrified at the shelter, is now happy as a clam in her new home in Seattle. And Sal, who was starving himself in his kennel, is in a board and train program, learning how to be somebody’s pet.
Sal is doing great, but he hasn’t been adopted yet. Board and train costs $4000 a month. Wouldn’t it be great if I could help Jill find dog-loving patrons to help her with hefty annual expenses… who’d be thrilled to help get these magnificent creatures out of the shelter and into behavioral programs or help with medical expenses, anything to ultimately allow them to thrive in loving homes.
I still feel guilt that I’m not at the shelter taking the big dogs out for enrichment and supporting the other volunteers. But, I also know, deep down, it’s not entirely my fault. It’s not my fault the system is set up so poorly. It’s not my fault irresponsible people are turning their backs on their pets, it’s not my fault spay-neuter laws aren’t enforced. It’s not my fault there are too many backyard breeders bringing too many unwanted kittens and puppies into the world. It’s not my fault cruel owners aren’t punished. It’s not my fault dog-fighting is allowed to continue. None of it is my fault but all if it is part of the problem. Now, it’s time to be a small part of a solution.
As the year comes to a close, I am filled with new purpose.
Through my writing, I hope to raise awareness about a one-woman army and her quest to free long-timers from the shelter system. To find out more about dogs like Thor and Sal and Mystery you can go to the Outta the Cage website. And, if you feel compelled, maybe you can donate a few bucks as well. I promise you, it’ll be worth it. https://outtathecage.org
